All's Fair in Love and War
by Elenion Anaar
Summary: AU-The country is split by a civil war- a revolution against oppressive government. No one can be trusted from idealistic rebels(Serenity)to "neutral" opportunists(Seto). Can love really come through the darkness? SetoSerenity
1. Chapter 1

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it. Also, let me say now that I have very little knowledge about Japan. With that out of the way, try to enjoy!_

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_**Chapter 1**_

The small candle flickered even as the slender hand cupped protectively around it. Any small amount of cool wind made the weak flame gutter. Rough and overused floorboards creaked beneath her feet, making the delicate girl wince. Any sound in the godawful silence of the deserted apartment could make anybody wince.

Shadows were cast across the girl's pretty face as she walked past the curtained windows in the living room that she had once assumed was safe. Now nowhere was safe. It was the middle of a civil war- a revolution. Anyone could be suspected of anything at anytime or place.

It was like constantly living at the gates of hell.

The auburn-haired girl fidgeted with the passport in her careworn khakis' pocket. It bore her name in large bold letters: _Serenity Wheeler_. Now the passport meant nothing. It served no other purpose than to be a thin piece of plastic-coated paper bearing her name, age, and height. There was no coming in or out of the country. Not legally anyway. Customs and any international areas were closed. Any foreigners in Japan were stranded in the country until further notice.

Once more, the candle threatened to die, to leave her in utter darkness. If there was one thing Serenity had come to fear, it was the dark. As soon as the sun set- leaving its bloody trail across the sky- the civil war began again. Dusk was like the calm before the storm, and afternoon was like the temporary peace agreement- that was, if you didn't count the snipers.

Silent tears trickled down her cheeks. She wasn't an innocent bystander now. Rather, she was deeply encircled in the rebel movement of the revolution, and everyday might be her last as a free human being.

Typically, the rebels had no jobs other than to cooperate with their side. As a result, most rebels- unless initially wealthy- were poor. It was for this reason that the teenage girl was adorned in such care and wash-worn clothes. Her khakis were threadbare and her normally pink blouse was more of a gray hue.

Her brother tried to keep her out of the fight as much as he could. Now, (as always) she was waiting for her brother to return home- worrying every time that perhaps this time would be the one time that he wouldn't make it.

His words to her when this all began echoed inside her mind: _"Ya neva know when they're gonna hunt ya down, Ren. Ya just neva know."_

It was true. Neither side of the civil war were predictable. Both sides were prone to violently attacking civilians with no apparent cause whatsoever. As much as she hated to admit it, Serenity knew that the side that she was fighting for did contain many blood-lusting leaders.

Still silently crying, the fragile girl set the candle on the windowsill. Her hair was clinging to the salty wet stains on her cheeks. Cautiously, she peaked out of the blinds, even though Joey had specifically told her not to ever do that. She only wanted one glimpse of her brother coming home… But he wasn't there yet. All Serenity could see was the slum outside their apartment building.

It had been weeks since the power in the apartment worked correctly. In fact, ever since the civil war began, nothing seemed to work right. And there was no light at the end of the tunnel- it didn't seem that anything would work right again.

_'Please come home, Joey. Please don't be hurt. I love you, big brother.'_

Serenity cupped her slender hand around the candle again. This one candle was the only thing keeping away all the stifling darkness of the apartment.

_'Just let this night pass. I want it to be day.'_

Breathing deeply to calm herself, Serenity slid the candle in front of the blinds so that it could be clearly seen by those looking into the windows. It was a mark that she worked for the rebels- a mark that would preserve her life if the rebel assassins decided to bully the people in her apartment building.

A key turned in the lock. The door creaked open.

Relief.

"Serenity?" A hoarse voice whispered. It sounded more like a plea than a question.

Something was wrong.

With a cry, the slender girl rushed to her brother's side. "Joey, you're bleeding," Serenity whispered back through her silent tears.

There stood her brother, leaning painfully against the doorway with crimson blood streaming down the left side of his paling face and clinging to his golden blonde hair. She draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him slowly limp to the couch where he gingerly sat.

Serenity carefully elevated her brother's leg up onto an ottoman causing him to hiss in pain. "Gods, what h-happened?"

"Don't worry about it, sis," Joey replied through gritted teeth. "I think it might be broken." He gestured at his leg.

"Where does it hurt?" Serenity bit her lip.

"My ankle hurts like a bast-"

"It was _them _wasn't it?" Serenity interrupted angrily. By _them _she meant the opposite side of the revolution- the oppressive, totalitarian board of government. Her dexterous hands were wiping the red stains off his face with a wetted washcloth.

Joey remained quiet. Above anything, he didn't want his little sister to get upset.

"Why did they target you?" Serenity asked worriedly.

He was spared answering by a sharp knock at the door.

The two in the room froze. Serenity's eyes darted over to the door. If it wasthe other sidethan Joey was in no condition to run anywhere, and she wasn't about to leave him.

"Hide, Ren," Joey growled under his breath.

Wide-eyed she turned to him and shook her head.

"Dammit, Serenity! I can take care of myself!"

The sharp knocking came again.

This time, her big brother grabbed her roughly around her slim waist and practically threw her behind the couch. "Stay dere, Ren, will ya? I mean it," Joey hissed urgently as he got to his feet. He tenderly tested his weight on his ankle before he put all his weight back onto his other foot. _'Dis damn ankle…' _

Joey drew himself up to his full height and tried to fight the impulse to collapse from his pained leg. Whoever it was that wanted to get in was going to have to go through him first, even if it killed him.

A pair of honey-colored eyes peered over the couch in alarm. Serenity kept her panic under control. This was not a good time to lose her head.

_BAM!_

The door burst from its molding as someone threw all the weight they could against it. Three men in black sportswear rushed into the room. Before Joey could even react, he was pinned against the wall. Serenity leapt from behind the sofa to aide her brother, but she was grabbed roughly by her auburn hair and thrown onto the floor with a soft cry.

"Serenity!" Joey called as he saw his sister hit the floorboards with one of the men towering over her. He felt ready to vomit- waves of pain were trembling throughout his entire body- but he had to do something.

"Stop that!" A man's voice yelled from the doorway. It sounded vaguely familiar.

"Tristan?" Joey mumbled in surprise.

It was indeed his old friend Tristan Taylor at the door with an extremely worried expression on his face. At his word, the three men dressed in black outfits released Joey and stepped back towards Tristan. Serenity picked herself up and threw herself into Joey's arms, which immediately wrapped protectively around her- no matter how much pain he felt. The poor girl was shaking in his arms.

"What da hell do ya think ya're doin', Tristan?" Joey growled as a wave of pained dizziness swept over him.

Tristan walked over scratching the back of his head. "I could ask you the same question."

Joey was pretty unruffled by this point. That was some scare they'd given his little sister, and he wasn't about to take that lightly. "Whaddya mean by dat? We _moved _here, ya jerk! We _live _here! The local leaders transferred us here _two weeks ago_" He tried to take a step forward, but a hiss of pain escaped his lips instead. Serenity gazed at him worriedly, before guiding her limping brother gently back to the couch.

Their friend swallowed, obviously embarrassed. "Well, I never heard about that. We thought it was some rebel impersonator living here, because there was a candle in the window. I never thought that _you _would…"

Serenity was having a hard time with her brother. He was too riled up to sit down. She gave him a bit of a push that was enough to send him tumbling onto the couch with a yelp.

Tristan looked with concern at his friend. "These guys didn't hurt you _that _bad, did they?"

Joey glared at his friend. "Don't give em so much credit, Tristan. It wasn't your hit men dat did dis. It was…." He let it hang. It was extremely easy for everyone to figure out what he meant by that. Someone on the other side had decided to ruff him up a bit.

Serenity brushed off her khakis, because of all the dust that had rubbed on them when she'd been thrown to the floor. _'Men… Always acting before they think things through…' _She cast an acid glance in the direction of the three men near the door while ginerly touching her forehead where her head had banged against the floor. She was going to have a nasty bruise right above her eye. Her own side of the civil war had attacked her. Granted, it had been unknowingly, but it sure didn't inspire much confidence.

Swallowing, Tristan shifted on his feet nervously. He'd royally screwed up, and he knew it. "Ehh… I guess we'll be going then," he cast a look in Serenity's direction, "Sorry, Serenity… and Joey…" He signaled for the three hit men to follow him and turned to leave. "I'll… uh… get someone to fix this door for you."

It did need some major fixing. The whole door was swinging on one hinge and the deadlock had made a nice hole in the doorframe.

In response, Joey just growled.

"I'll see you guys at the local meeting tonight?" Tristan asked, still feeling like a fool.

"I guess," Joey grimaced at the thought of walking.

And just like that, Tristan and his three men were gone.

Serenity bent down by her brother's leg, trying to examine it. She tenderly pushed back the leg of his jeans so that she could see his ankle more clearly. His ankle was red- almost purple, actually- and swollen to nearly twice its normal size. "Tell me if this hurts," Serenity whispered as she gently applied pressure.

Joey yelled in response. "Dammit! That hurt like hell…"

"I don't think that you should go to the meeting tonight, Joey," Serenity said sternly.

He blinked at her. "What did you say?"

"I don't think that you should go to the meeting tonight," Serenity calmly repeated. "You're in no condition at all."

"Ah, Ren. Dere's no way. I'm fine." Joey pleaded. He didn't want _her_ to go to the meeting. Every time there was one, he tried to think of some excuse so that she wouldn't be able to go. And every time, she had to convince him that she wasn't a baby anymore.

"You are far from fine, Joey," Serenity said worriedly.

Her brother stumbled to his feet. "Look, I'm really ok. See, I can even walk a few…" But his head suddenly reeled and he sat immediately back down on the sofa. He put his head in his hands in frustration. The local unit wouldn't like it if he didn't show up to their meeting.

"All right, Ren. I'd try ta convince ya not ta go either… but I know dat I can't," he looked up at her as she pulled on a jacket. "Just be careful, sis."

She smiled at her brother and kissed his forehead. "I will, big brother." The petite, auburn-haired girl made for the door. This would be the first time in weeks that she'd gone out at night alone, and she still feared the darkness. But she put in a brave face.

"And don't volunteer for any-ting!" Joey called from the couch as his sister disappeared into the hallway.

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The chilly night air was blowing right through Serenity's jacket as if the jacket wasn't even there. Out of alleyways, imagined and real ghoulish faces leered at her as she passed. Serenity's breathing quickened. She had always hated the walks to the local unit's meeting place- an abandoned warehouse in the heart of the slums- but alone, it was ten times worse.

Any little movement in the corner of her eye would cause Serenity's heart to skip a beat. Minutes passed by like hours on the dark, deserted streets. No light shown from any windows, despite the many people who were most likely watching Serenity cautiously as she went by. The unbidden eyes following her were unnerving, and Serenity checked the street sign to see just how far she had to go before she would reach the warehouse.

_BANG!_

A gunshot. Serenity froze in place. It hadn't been from all that far away.

Now footsteps… Two people… Sprinting in her direction…

Breathing rapidly, Serenity pressed her back against the nearest wall. The petite girl clawed at the bricks in the building's wall desperately praying that no one would see her. It was possible that the shadows of the street would conceal her from sight.

The first runner passed her by without so much as a glance in her direction. His running was panicked- his arms thrown everywhere. He was probably just some poor guy- not that much different from her brother- who had gotten on the wrong side of a man with a testy temper and a gun in his pocket.

"Fuckin' coward!" A loud voice broke through the street's icy silence as the second man went thundering by Serenity with a gun in his hand.

_BANG!_

He fired again into the air for no reason in particular. Someone nearby a car alarm went off, sending a chorus of man-made noise straight to the heavens.

Serenity waited in the shadows for a few more seconds to be sure that they were gone before stepping out into the sidewalk again. Call it fate, but she had once again been reminded how the streets were an unyielding place where brains didn't always win over brawn.

For someone so innocent, Serenity knew an awful lot about the streets. It was sad, really. The revolution was really tearing the country apart. Everyday lives were ripped in half for mere sport of some hitman or another. So many people just wanted this civil war to end, but that didn't seem a likely occurrence any time soon.

Without further incident, Serenity reached the warehouse where her rebel unit was pooling together to hear gods-knew-what news. It might just be another counting to see how many people had been recently killed or had decided to turn sides, but then, it might actually be something really important.

Afterall, over the past few weeks, the other side had grown more unforgiving and unreasonable than they had been previously. Granted, both sides had always had a bloodthirsty streak…

Serenity stared at the looming figure of the dark- and supposedly deserted- warehouse. Everyone else would be in the basement about now to avoid detection.

Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach. Despite the fact that it was her own side, Serenity couldn't help but feel anxious. Even that night, her own side had unknowingly attacked her. It didn't inspire any real confidence, and it surely defeated the promise that the people in the division would look out for each other.

The petite girl entered the warehouse. It was dank and musty inside with cobwebs strung in every corner. In itself, their meeting place was probably the most miserable place in the entire city.

One foot-worn staircase to the basement later…

There was a guard at the bottom of the stairs, but he presented no problem. Serenity was easily recognized among her comrades.

All the lights were dim- probably a precaution, although the basement had no windows. Even the fluorescent bulbs that had actually been turned on were so coated with grime that the faces of other people were barely even recognizable. Once inside, Serenity looked around for a familiar face in the grimly shadowed room.

"Hey, Serenity! Over here, kiddo!"

The auburn-haired girl looked over to see a familiar face. Mai.

"Where's Joseph?" The blonde girl raised an eyebrow quizzically, then her eyes caught the rising bruise above Serenity' right eye. "What happened?"

Serenity gingerly touched her bruise and sighed. "Joey's at home and this… It was a mistake… Tristan's hitmen suspected our apartment as one of _theirs' _and… well…."

"What an _idiot!_" Mai exclaimed, hitting her own forehead with the palm of her hand. "_He _attacked _you_?!"

A sudden banging on a wooden box that served as a podium interrupted their conversation. The division's leader stepped up to address the assembled crowd.

"I suppose that most of you don't know why you are here," a rebel spokesperson stated loudly looking over the crowd. The voice of the man speaking was echoing slightly in the large room.

There were some mumblings in the crowd.

"But before I get to the more pressing news… We have received our new digital projection equipment from Kaiba Corp."

Mai smiled. They had been waiting nearly a month for that order, and with the new projection equipment (which was originally meant to be used in gaming software), they could project images of objects that weren't actually there. Virtual reality could thus be used as a weapon.

The leader continued, "As you know, the CEO of Kaiba Corp, Seto Kaiba, has decided to remain neutral in this civil war. Therefore, the same projection equipment has been sold to the other side- our enemy."

Now the crowd turned fearful. If both sides of this revolution had the same equipment, then neither side had any advantage.

Mai shrugged silently. She had expected no less. It was a well-known fact that Seto Kaiba was an opportunist, and he had lost no time in securing a neutral spot so that he could work the war to his company's advantage. Moral values meant little to him, or so it appeared. However, he was also playing a dangerous game. Remaining neutral in a countrywide war was an almost impossible task, but so far, the great Kaiba had managed. Serenity, however, seemed shocked at such double-play.

"But on to the more pressing news," the leader said grimly and wrinkled his forehead in concern, "This local unit has been given an order that this division- and this one alone- must try to seek negotiations with the other side."

There was a simultaneous intake of breath from everyone at the meeting.

This was too much for a certain hot-headed Mai Valentine. "Why do _we _need to negotiate? If this dumb organization wants to negotiate with the enemy, why can't the head do it themselves?"

The leader glared at the blonde woman who had dared to interrupt his speech. "Apparently, some of our hitmen teams have decided to act without orders from any of their superiors."

Serenity crossed her arms over her chest. That was surely obvious to her. Their hitmen teams were pretty much from the bottom of the barrel.

"And," the leader pinched the bridge of his nose to try to stall an oncoming migraine, "these hitmen killed men that we were hoping to hold prisoner to reach a negotiation in exchange for some property. As of now, those hopes have been shot, and the head of the revolution thinks that this division has been specifically targeted by the other side."

This was far from good news. Everyone was silent for a moment.

A man in the crowd spoke up, "So what kind of negotiations does the head want?"

"They want us to send two people to relay the news that our hostages are dead and possibly negotiate our sorry asses out of this mess," the leader replied, aggravated. "And we've already picked our people for the job."

There was tense silence. Usually, they asked for volunteers, but this must have been a special case.

"Kai Steps and Serenity Wheeler."

Serenity froze in her spot. There was no way…

"For now, everyone else may go home."

The auburn-haired girl felt people pat her back as they stepped out, but she didn't even feel any of them so much as touch her. The only thing that was passing through her mind was _'Why me?'_

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_Elenion: Because I'm weird, I've already uploaded the second chapter. So don't stop here!_


	2. Chapter 2

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it. Keep on reading if you like!_

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_**Chapter 2**_

The unit leader stared at Kai Steps and Serenity Wheeler sternly. He could only hope that this would work.

Kai was a large guy, namely picked for this to be a threatening presence to make the other side think twice before randomly attacking. On the other hand, Serenity was a petite girl with a good head on her shoulders. She was the one meant to do the negotiations, and the leader had hoped that since she was so petite and not threatening in the least that the leaders of the other side would be more reasonable with their reactions.

"You two need to resolve this tonight," the leader said to them, sternly.

Millions of things were flashing in Serenity's mind- namely Joey and what he would think. This was like a nightmare of large proportions, and Serenity couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Her unfocused eyes stared at the shadows dancing over the unit leaders face.

Kai shifted his bulky weight on one foot and flexed his large muscles. "How do we find the leaders of the other side?"

The leader sighed. "They'll find you."

Serenity's eyes widened. "You mean, we basically stay in one place like sitting ducks until some of the other side pick us up?"

No reply. That meant yes.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Serenity and the oversized Kai were in a dark alleyway. Serenity was more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. Her throat was constricted and barely allowing her to breathe. Kai, despite his machismo, seemed to be anxious as well. His eyes kept darting all over the alley, trying to see some sign that the enemy was on to them.

"How much longer, do you think?" Serenity whispered to the man who wsa an entire head taller than she.

"I dunno," he replied with a shrug.

Some help he was.

Everything was shadowed and menacing. Windows yawned like giant, black eyes and doorways seemed even more dangerous. Domino City at night was a virtual nightmare to anyone unfamiliar with the ways of the street.

Kai, whether he wanted to admit it or not, was beginning to break down. As much as he tried to be a 'real man', he was extremely easy to scare psychologically. His breathing began to quicken in a panic. The sense that he was constantly being watched by people he couldn't see was taking a toll on his level of sanity. He froze in his tracks and screamed to the skies, **"JUST COME AND GET ME ALREADY!!!! WE'RE REBELS!!!! WHAT ARE YOU W-"**

The auburn-haired girl clapped a hand over his mouth. "What are you thinking?" she whispered, frightened beyond all else.

Her head turned about. There was no way that Kai's outburst hadn't gone unnoticed.

A low chuckle echoed through the tight alleyway from the depths of the shadows… A shiver crept up Serenity's spine. This was not good at all. But somehow, this was the way she'd imagined it would be.

It all happened suddenly and without warning.

Men pounced out of the shadows. Kai was roughly grabbed by the scruff of his neck and slammed headfirst into the brick wall. The large man let out a mix of outcry and grunt as his head connected with brick.

Serenity was grasped about the waist and thrown to the ground for the second time that evening. The small girl twisted around onto her back. The man pushed her back down onto the ground with his foot; Serenity lashed out with her feet and felt her heels connect with his shins.

With catlike movements, she leapt back onto her feet in time to see Kai slide to the ground against the wall, unmoving. Serenity felt tears clouding her vision. It was obviously too late for the brawny man.

"Stop!" Serenity cried out. "We just want to negotiate! Please, **stop**!"

The men were dressed in street wear, but they were composed like full-fledged assassins. One of them grabbed her menacingly by the front of her blouse and stuck his face in hers. "Keep talking, little girl."

"I… I…." Serenity swallowed, more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. If she said the wrong thing, she was gone… forever. "We w-were sent from our r-rebel division to give some n-news to the leaders of the other s-side. P-please, it's urgent."

The three contract killers all looked at one another, exchanging dark glances. If she was bluffing, then they were in trouble. But then, if she wasn't, and they killed her, then they were in even more trouble with their superiors.

Serenity breathed heavily as she felt her throat tighten. There was no telling what they might do to her. Violence and rape were far from uncommon on the streets.

They seemed to have reached a decision.

"Fine," one of them said coldly, "But just in case…"

The petite girl felt a sudden impact in the back of the head. Her vision swam right before everything went dark.

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Serenity groaned and rolled over. Information was rushing through her mind too quickly to comprehend. Faint voices were bickering and she strained her aching brain to focus on what was being said.

"Well, what the hell does she want?" a sharp voice was saying.

"Has some news, sir," a voice that sounded vaguely familiar to Serenity.

There was a pause, then- "Fine. But if this is a bluff…"

Serenity's eyes flickered open, and she found that she was in the dark- on the floor. Her only light was the yellow sliver coming through the crack under the door. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered what she was up against and just how easily the muscle man, Kai, had gone down.

Suddenly, light came pouring in as the door was flung open. Serenity squinted, and she vaguely saw the large figure of a man framed in the doorway. She was roughly picked up under her arms and set on her feet.

The petite girl swayed slightly and came close to falling onto her face. Everything was achy, and there was an ever-present fear in the back of her mind. Silently, she allowed herself to be virtually dragged into a dimly lit room. Comparatively, it resembled the warehouse room where her rebel unit held meetings, but it seemed more like a polished conference room.

Without warning, she was thrown to her knees at a pair of black-booted feet. The auburn-haired girl trembled, chewing silently on her bottom lip.

"Make this quick," an annoyed voice commanded from above her.

Serenity looked up to see a pair of heartless lavender eyes glaring back at her. This man was good-looking and his infamous champagne-white hair told him exactly who he was: Marik Ishtar. He was a high-ranking leader of the government-controlled side of the revolution.

"Well?" Marik hissed, losing patience with the doll-like girl thrown at his feet.

Serenity slowly rose onto her feet, trying to boost her confidence. It didn't really work. She was such a petite little thing that she only came to his chest. "I w-was s-s-sent to t-tell you…"

"Marik!" A cold voice growled deeply from the doorway to the room.

The lavender eyes flicked over to the towering figure striding toward him.

Serenity whirled around to face the powerful man striding toward them. He wore a long navy trench coat, and his fierce oceanic eyes positively burned into Marik's with an unparalleled ferocity. If it was possible, Serenity was more afraid of this chestnut-haired man than she had been of Marik. And hell knew that was saying a lot.

"Seto Kaiba, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Marik said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Serenity's eyes filled with recognition. So this was the Seto Kaiba…

"Cut the shit, Marik," Kaiba snapped coldly, "You know what I'm here for."

"Ah, yes," Marik scoffed, twirling a strand of his hair around his finger, "That projection equipment you sold us."

"For which Kaiba Corp was never paid," the CEO growled.

Marik's men shifted in position, but they knew enough not to interfere when it came to Seto Kaiba and Marik Ishtar. Even Marik was afraid of Seto Kaiba… even he didn't dare call the CEO by his first name.

Serenity wrung her hands, watching this bone-chilling argument. Granted, she was grateful for the interruption, but confrontations -that she wasn't even a part of- put her on edge.

Marik's eyes flashed dangerously. "One of my engineers was supposed to take care of that. Don't come whining to me, Kaiba."

"Don't tell me things I already know, you pathetic excuse for a leader. I was negotiating with Kapler, but as I am told, the fool was taken prisoner from right under your nose." The steely blue eyes narrowed to slits as they watched Marik's reaction.

"Well, why can't we get him back?" Marik barked back at the rich CEO.

Serenity's eyes widened. "That's what I've been trying to tell you…"

Out of nowhere, Marik's hand slapped her smartly straight across the face. Serenity cried out in shock and pain. "Did I ask you to speak, you rebel-bitch?"

Her cheek was already beginning to show a raw, red handprint that stung something awful. The fragile girl wasn't fit to be handled in such a barbaric manner. She was trembling as she touched her face. "But I-"

Again, Marik raised his hand, but Kaiba grabbed his wrist. Their icy eyes battled for a moment, before the blue eyes turned to bore straight into Serenity's. "Start talking."

Serenity felt a shiver crawl down her spine, and she suddenly became very conscious about her drab clothes and roughed-up face. Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, "I was s-sent to t-tell… the other s-side that…" The small girl's honey-colored eyes winced at what she had to say. Marik wouldn't like it one bit. "That th-the p-prisoners w-were…" Her voice completely trailed off.

The light golden-haired man growled at the trembling girl before him. "Were what?"

Tears were threatening to stream down her cheeks. "W-were acc-accidentally k-k-killed."

Marik positively leapt at her, catching her by the shoulders and slamming her against the nearest wall. He was fuming inwardly and an unsuppressed fire was blazing in his lavender eyes. But before he could cause any more damage to the squirming girl in his grasp, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt by an even firmer grip than his own.

"Enough, you fucking sadist!" Seto Kaiba hissed as he pulled the furious leader off. He smirked, amused, at Marik's display of lack of self-control. "Haven't you ever heard not to kill the messenger?"

Marik snarled with an animal-like rage and jerked away from Kaiba's grasp, but even he was smart enough not to cross Seto Kaiba. Instead, he tried to recompose himself. "Well, since Kapler is gone…" He cracked his neck to the side, "What is your asking price?"

"Four million, Marik," Kaiba said coldly, "No less."

Serenity inhaled at the massive price, but Marik only replied: "Fine." He turned to one of his cronies and made a gesture that obviously was a signal to go and get the cash. Sure enough, the man left the room.

The petite girl stared at her feet. She knew that she was supposed to negotiate her rebel unit out of their mess, but Marik was scaring her into silence. "Um, sir?" She winced as the pair of lavender eyes focused on her again, but he said nothing. "I was s-supposed to… um…"

"Who the hell cares what you were _supposed _to do?" Marik sneered at her as she trembled fearfully, "All you rebels are all the fucking same: pathetic and hopeless."

This really struck a nerve in Serenity, and the normally very calm girl simply snapped. "Do you even _know _what _you're _fighting for, you jerk?!"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and smirked evilly at the girl's outburst. It was amusing to see Marik getting bitched at by a little pixie.

Marik growled, but the girl continued instead: "I bet you don't. Your side was the _totalitarian society_ of the already in-control government who wanted to oppress and control every _facet_ of life for the people under you!" Serenity was on the verge of tears. "Why can't you see how egotistic and greedy that is?"

"At least I'm not some idealistic _sap_ who wants everyone to have the damn same amount of everything. So take all your fucked up ideas of sugar-sweet government and _shove it_, bitch!" Marik yelled furiously, looking at her as if he wanted to just wring her neck then and there.

Serenity bit her lip, and the poor girl felt her sudden spark of resolve disappear. Swallowing, she stared at her feet, trying rather unsuccessfully to think of something to say in reply.

It was a hopeless cause.

At that moment, the man who'd gone to get Kaiba's money came back into the room. He was carrying a briefcase, which he put on a table and opened. Trenchcoat billowing behind him, the CEO strode over and examined the cash with a quick eye. "This is only half of what I asked for, Marik."

"Yes, I know," Marik replied icily, "I've only received half of my ordered equipment, Kaiba. That doesn't make me happy."

This didn't settle well with a certain Seto Kaiba. Nope, it didn't settle well at all.

"Making miserable losers like you happy is not my job, Marik. I demand my payment in full. Now." He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his emotionless eyes.

"Take it or leave it, Kaiba."

There was a long, tense silence.

Serenity stepped forward, timidly. "C-can I l-leave now?"

Marik whirled on her and grabbed her by her hair, causing her to shriek miserably. "Sure. I'll let you go as soon as I'm done with _him_." He released her with a sharp jerk that sent her slamming onto her knees.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes even further, and his mouth tightened grimly. But he remained silent.

"What do you say, Almighty Kaiba?" Marik mocked, feeling more in-control now. He cast a glance at the cowering girl on her knees. Maybe he wouldn't let her go. Not just yet… Afterall, she was such a pretty little thing…

"Fine. But I expect the other half of my payment by the end of the week and no later." Kaiba hissed. He snapped the briefcase closed and sent a bloodcurdling glare in Marik's direction. His eyes turned to the rather ruffed-up girl kneeling on the ground, and his eyes snapped back up to see a smirk on Marik's pretty-boy face. Kaiba could see it in his eyes that Marik wasn't going to let her go…

"Get up, girl!" Marik barked at Serenity, who winced at the commanding tone. However, she painfully rose from her aching knees. Marik's smirk widened as he sadistically took pleasure in seeing her grimace in pain. He pulled her forcefully towards him. "Get comfortable, doll-face, cause you'll be here a while."

Serenity's honey-colored eyes widened. "But you said you'd let me go!"

Marik threw back his head and laughed diabolically, "Sweetheart, if everyone kept their word, the world would be a boring place."

"I'm just a messenger. I'm no spy! I just want to see my brother!" Serenity protested, wrenching herself away from the man's strong grip. But Marik grabbed her by her wrists so tightly that she positively screamed.

"Leave her alone."

Marik's lavender eyes flickered over from his prey to the towering blue-eyed man who he had come to loathe with a passion. He released Serenity's reddening wrists and pushed her backwards to the floor. She landed with a soft cry as shockwaves pulsed through her body. Through all this, she wondered why the unfeeling Seto Kaiba was sticking up for her. Did he have morals, afterall?

"Oh, I don't think so Kaiba," Marik snarled, "She's a messenger from the other side. I think I'm entitled to have a little _fun_ with her. Don't even try to spoil it."

"There's nothing I'd like better than to spoil your fun, Marik." Kaiba chuckled darkly. He didn't so much as glance at the fearful Serenity as he continued talking. "Besides… I need assurance that I'll get the rest of my pay after I give you the rest of Kaiba Corp's equipment."

Marik's eyes flashed dangerously. "What kind of assurance?"

In one swift motion, Kaiba bent down and lifted Serenity up by one of her arms. "Like her," he said, grinning at Marik's anger.

Serenity began to tremble again. Honestly, she was thrown off by Kaiba's actions. It had seemed like he had actually wanted to help her. But now, she saw that he only wanted her as insurance that he'd get his money on time. So when it came right down to it, she was scared.

Really scared.

Marik's face was contorted in rage. It wasn't that he actually cared about whether he had the girl or not. It had instead morphed into a power-struggle exercise. If he let Kaiba take her, then Marik would lose some of his control… "I don't think so, Kaiba."

The sleek CEO had expected that. "If you don't let me have an assurance, than I guess I could just call this whole deal off. But I warn you that the projection equipment won't work in three dimensions if you don't get the other half."

Marik was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he knew it. A vein pulsed on his forehead, and he clenched his jaw. Above all else, he couldn't afford to be technologically behind his enemy. His side had to win this war. "Take her," he said tightly, "But you'd better bring her back. She's a prisoner of the aristocrats now."

"I'll be seeing you soon, Marik," Kaiba replied deeply with a smirk. He'd won a minor battle, and it was a damned good feeling. He shifted the briefcase in his left hand, and moved the girl with his right. "Come on, kid."

Serenity shuddered as she was steered by her forearm through a series of metal doors and out into an alley. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and Serenity only then realized that she was positively exhausted. But fear was creeping in. The petite girl stole a glance at the face of the man who had rescued and recaptured her at the same time.

She tried to squirm her arm out of his strong grip, but it was only tightened. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. There was no telling what this cold man might have in store for her.

"Stop crying," Kaiba said, "And clean your face." He released his grip on her forearm and thrust a navy handkerchief from his trenchcoat in her face.

Serenity wiped around her eyes and gingerly brushed against her bruised forehead, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't stop crying. Every move that Kaiba made caused her to flinch. She'd always heard stories about the way the CEO of Kaiba Corp could intimidate people by his mere presence, but she'd never really believed them… until now. She handed the handkerchief back to Kaiba with tears brimming her eyes.

"I thought I told you to stop crying," Kaiba hissed at the girl who refused to make eye contact.

"S-sorry… I j-just can't h-help it."

"Are you scared of me?" Kaiba asked, thoroughly amused at the easy domination he held over her.

Serenity shuddered and stared at her feet. She was indeed scared of him. Out of her wits, actually. Wasn't that obvious? But she wasn't about to come out and tell him that. Instead, she asked, "So w-which s-side are y-you on?"

"I don't take sides, unless there's something that I am guaranteed to gain," Kaiba said matter-of-factly in his deep voice. Thus far, neither side of this petty civil war had offered him anything substantial for his loyalty.

Serenity cast a glance at the end of the alley, and she suddenly made a run for it. Breathing rapidly, she dashed rapidly down the alley, but Kaiba had been prepared for that. He grabbed her by the back of her neck and shoved her back up against the alley wall.

"What are you thinking, girl?" He hissed in her face.

Serenity's throat tightened and a strangled sob emerged from her throat.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. He grabbed her forearm again and steered her to the end of the alley. Once there, he released her and gave her a push in the small of the back. "Go."

"You m-mean, you're j-just letting m-me go?" The petite girl stuttered, not believing what she was hearing.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Kaiba replied stiffly, staring straight into her innocent eyes.

Serenity was bewildered, and her fears were beginning to calm. "Why are you letting me just leave?"

The CEO turned his gaze to face the sun rising over the tops of the gloomy city. "I'm no saint, kid. But I'm no damn rapist either."

"What about Marik?" Serenity asked, worriedly. Despite her own welfare, she was worrying about what would happen to the man who had once again turned into a rescuer.

"He can go fuck himself for all I care," Kaiba snapped. Anytime anyone mentioned Marik, the CEO showed even more temper than usual. And that was saying a lot.

Serenity wrung her hands. She had not expected this from this intimidating man. Was he actually showing her some form of compassion? She swallowed and made as if to touch his arm, but she thought better of it and pulled back at the last minute. "Thank you," she said quietly, pulling something off her neck, "I want you to have this."

The CEO turned to find her pressing something cold and hard into his hand. He clenched his hand instinctively around it and looked up in time to see her petite form running off down the street into the pre-dawn light with her auburn hair was blowing softly behind her.

His steely blue eyes remained emotionless as he turned his gaze back to whatever pathetic gift that girl had given him. It was a silver locket with one word engraved across the top in cursive: _Serenity._ Kaiba's fingers rubbed over the engraving, not thinking of anything in particular.

Navy trenchcoat billowing behind him in the early morning breeze, the CEO of Kaiba Corp strode solemnly down the shadowy sidewalk. The briefcase in one hand and the locket in the other, he passed by a few men who cast threatening glances his way but didn't actually threaten him.

Eventually, Kaiba found what he was looking for- a trash basket.

For one moment, he dangled the silver locket with the girl's name over the basket. And in that moment, Kaiba had every intention of dropping it and just leaving it to tarnish and remain forgotten…

But he didn't do it.

As Kaiba walked away, with the locket stuck in his coat pocket, he let out a tired sigh. He had an hour before he was expected at work, and he expected that it was only ten minutes before the symphony of shots from snipers on the innocent began.

Such was a normal and yet abnormal day in Domino City…

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_Elenion: Feedback and all that jazz is greatly appreciated! Hopefully, you liked it. I should be updating sometime soon._


	3. Chapter 3

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it. So, as is my habit, I'm posting responses to those who reviewed:_

_Sakura- Well I'm really glad you took such a liking to it. I hope what's to come pleases you as much as the first two chapters did._

_Eternity's Angel- Thanks! I tried my best to keep everyone in character. Just let me know if I start to slip._

_Peneia Teke- All I can say is a very large "thank you"! Also, thanks for checking out 'Train'. I'm so happy you like the way I write. And Seto allowing Serenity to escape is probably my favorite part of that last chapter. Glad you liked it too! _

_Jieli- Thanks for checking this story out! It's really a nice compliment that you're interested enough to look at both my stories. Anyways, I thought that Kaiba being the "neutral" guy was an interesting idea. And I'm so happy you liked it!_

_Elenion: So, again, thanks to the reviewers!! And here comes the next installment- hope you like it..._

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**_Chapter 3_**

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

There was a frantic rap on the door. Joey lifted his head from his hands. "Who's dere?"

"J-joey? It's m-me."

"_Ren_!"

The blonde teenager leapt up, dragging his wounded leg slightly behind him, and flung the newly fixed door open. There stood a rather bedraggled Serenity with large tears in her widened honey-colored eyes. Her breath was coming heavily and fast- the telltale sign that she'd just run a fair distance.

Upon sight, she threw herself into her big brother's arms and settled there joyfully with her head buried in his chest. It was such a relief just to be able to see her brother again. For a while, she had thought that maybe she never would.

"Gods, Ren, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Joey said, holding her close to his chest, "I was so worried 'bout ya! Can I get you anything? Something to eat?"

She shook her head lightly, as her brother pushed her away so that he could get a good look at her. Despite being bedraggled and distraught, it was apparent that she wasn't badly hurt, but there was something missing... "What happened to your locket, sis?"

Serenity smiled lightly, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "I g-guess I l-lost it."

"You _lost _it?" Joey asked in disbelief. His sister hadn't parted with that little silver locket since she was five years old. It was practically impossible that she would be careless enough to lose it. "At least you're back." Joey gave her another bear hug. "Gods, what happened to ya?"

He immediately regretted asking.

A strangled sob tore out of her constricted throat as she buried her head in his shoulder. "It w-was l-like a n-nightmare."

"Let's save the story for later. Ya look exhausted." Joey patted her back, comfortingly.

"Mmm hmm..." Serenity stared with bleary eyes around the drab apartment and found it suddenly welcoming for the first time ever. The rising sun was peeking around the corners of the curtains playfully, giving even the faded walls of the apartment a bright tinge. _'I really thought I'd never see this place again...And I still don't understand why I'm here...'_

The poor girl practically collapsed into her bed, letting the threadbare sheets flutter over her face. It didn't matter what time of day it was; Serenity was exhausted. Her big brother sat on the edge of her bed silently holding her hand until it went slack and her breathing steadied. Only then, did he rise but he turned and watched her protectively from the doorway for a moment. _'We've stayed here too long. We shoulda gotten outta here when we had da chance.' _

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Seto Kaiba stood atop the once lively building of his company's competitor. Years before, he had mercilessly crushed his opponent's company and was able to score a monopoly in virtually anything electronic. It had been such a sweet feeling- that he had subdued all that was standing in his company's way. The CEO had always loved that dominance. Coming up to this place always made him recall that sensation of being in complete control.

A harsh breeze rustled his chestnut hair, blowing it into his steely blue eyes. His navy trenchcoat ruffled about his legs. A great cloud of smog hung close over the entire city. It was as if the weather had decided to reflect his mood.

There was the sound of footsteps behind him, but Kaiba ignored them. He already knew who it was.

"Not such a great view up here, Kaiba. It's always so hazy. I don't understand why you come here."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes to slits. "What do you want, Pegasus?"

A discussion of the view was obviously not the reason why he was here.

But Pegasus wasn't about to stop harassing Kaiba so easily. "So you took a girl from Marik, I hear?" By the way Kaiba stiffened, he knew that the CEO didn't want to discuss this, and it was for exactly that reason he pursued the subject. "Is she special to you, Kaiba?" he mocked.

Kaiba snorted, keeping his azure eyes on the horizon. "Far from it."

"Then why do you have that silver locket in your coat?" Pegasus chuckled with a sneer, grinning at the chain sloppily hanging out of the CEO's trenchcoat pocket.

Kaiba didn't grace the manipulative aristocrat with an answer. Instead, his hand snaked smoothly down and tucked the silver chain out of sight. "I won't ask you again, Pegasus. What do you want?" The CEO said evenly and coldly, not even bothering to look at the man behind him.

"I'm sure Marik has already asked you, but I know that you're not particularly _fond_ of him." The aristocrat- and head of the rebels' side of the revolution- took another step forward.

Kaiba's crossed his arms over his chest with his blue eyes still like slits. He knew exactly what was coming now. "The answer is still no."

"Why do you choose to remain aloof in this civil war, when you could join our side and win entirely?" Pegasus picked a golden pocket watch out of his velvet coat and flicked it open as if he were on a schedule.

"I have no interest in forming an exclusive alliance with your organization," Kaiba hissed, determinedly still watching the misty skyline before him.

Something in Pegasus' mind snapped. "You're walking a fine line, Seto Kaiba. You can't stay neutral forever."

It was a cleverly disguised threat. And both of them knew it.

"Keep your weasly nose out of my business," Kaiba growled, turning to fix Pegasus with his ice-cold glare for the first time since the conversation had begun. "You can threaten me all you want, Pegasus, but I'm still twice as smart as you'll ever be.

Pegasus' eyes flashed dangerously. "You know, your father, Gozaburo, would have-"

"My fucking _step_father can rot in hell."

There was a tense silence. The two power-hungry men glared daggers at one another.

Finally, Pegasus spoke, "I think you should reconsider our offer, Kaiba."

"I think perhaps it is _you _that needs to reconsider your offer," Kaiba said with a smirk, "You and your side are dependent on my company's technology or you'll lose this little war. My stepfather may have had an agreement with you, but he's gone now. I've been CEO of Kaiba Corp since I was fifteen. I think you should have learned by now that I am not the same person as my stepfather." He turned away with his trenchcoat billowing around his legs in the wind. "As far as I'm concerned, this discussion is over, Pegasus."

Fuming, the gray-haired aristocrat gritted his teeth and turned on heel without another word. As much as he wished he could deny it, Kaiba was necessary to his organization, and everything that the CEO had just said was true. So, as much as Pegasus didn't like it, he couldn't afford to push Seto Kaiba too far for fear of him turning against them.

Seto Kaiba closed his eyes, brooding over one thing or another.

_Ring!_

Smoothly, the foreboding man flicked a cell phone out of one of his coat pockets and held it to his ear.

"Kaiba."

_"Sir, we've discovered that the pay for an order of projection equipment is counterfeit."_

The CEO's eyes snapped open and a scowl tugged at his features. "Which order?"

_"The rebels, sir."_

"That doesn't surprise me," Kaiba growled, mulling all this over in his head. There was no real money to back up that side of the civil war, mostly because they were the working class. They didn't come from privileged backgrounds as did the governmental side even though they were run by Pegasus. However, that was none of Kaiba's concern. Compassion was not one of his areas of expertise.

_"Should I send someone out to their headquarters, Mr. Kaiba?"_

"No. I'll go myself." Kaiba replied icily with a dangerous smirk. "Dispatch a chopper."

_"Right away, sir."_

He flicked the phone closed and stared across the skyline once more. But this time, he had a real purpose. His steely eyes methodically searched the area until he could pick out the ever-enlarging figure of one of Kaiba Corp's helicopters. There was always some price to negotiate or figure to correct these days. For one Seto Kaiba, it had become a way of life, but none of the sleazy fools would dare deceive him to his face.

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_A hand slapped her smartly across the face._

_Voices were echoing throughout her head..."Did I ask you to speak, you rebel-bitch?"_

_Her wrists were grabbed painfully... It was all so blurry._

_Evil laughter..."Sweetheart, if everyone kept their word, the world would be a boring place."_

_Another voice, but still cold... "Leave her alone."_

_Being pushed in the small of the back... "Go."_

_Piercing blue eyes burning into her own..._

With innocent eyes snapping open, Serenity awoke to a world of faded sheets and pillows. The image of those blue eyes was still teasing her in the back of her mind. Dull aches and pains were throbbing from various bruises, but they weren't quite as painful as they had been a few hours before. Slowly, she rolled over onto her back so that she could stare peacefully at the ceiling.

Those chilling eyes... the poor girl couldn't decide whether she feared and hated them or loved and revered them. Perhaps it was a little of each. It was all so confusing.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. As always, she listened for the telltale noise of her brother moving around in the apartment's kitchen. But she didn't hear anything... _'That's strange...'_

"Joey?" Serenity furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "Joey, are you there?"

There was no reply.

The petite girl let out a deep sigh and shut her eyes again only to open them a few moments later. Sleep was evading her, and even if, somehow, she did manage to drift off, she was terrified that those steely blue eyes would haunt her again. That would just be too much for her to deal with. She didn't even know why those eyes kept coming back to her.

Defeated, Serenity rolled out of bed and stumbled exhaustedly into the kitchen. None of the lights were on, and from what she could see outside, the sun was already beginning to set. She numbly checked all the blinds to be sure that they were securely fastened for nightfall. It was by the living room window that she found a scribbled note in her brother's writing:

_Sis- _

_I gotta see about somethin'. I'll be back soon, just don't leave the apartment. Remember ta light a candle in the window._

_-Joey_

Serenity sighed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. These days, it was always one thing or another. There was never any time to rest and recuperate.

Silently, she grasped a small candle and with precision that can only come from practice, she lit a match and set its fire to the candlewick. Her throat constricted at the thought that she had just done this... the night before... Lavender followed by azure eyes flashed in her mind, causing her to reflexively close her own eyes.

When she had built up the courage to open her eyes again, the sight of the warm, flickering flame greeted her. It provided some comfort but nothing too substantial. She carefully slid it in front of the blind as the customary signal- rebel. The darkness was enclosing around the city. Serenity wrung her hands almost involuntarily.

_'I hate the dark.'_

Tired and sluggishly, Serenity ran a hand through her auburn hair, which- through the events of the past twenty-four hours- had become disheveled and dirty. And now that she thought about it, a shower would feel really nice on her aching limbs.

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Joey limped back to the apartment door hurriedly. In his rush, he fumbled clumsily with the key in the lock. It seemed to take a lifetime, but he was finally able to burst through the door and limp determinedly into the room.

"Sis? Yo, _sis_?! You in here?" Joey shouted into the shadow-ridden apartment. A pang of panic went through him. Dragging his pained leg, Joey searched through the rooms. "SIS?!"

But then he heard the shower running, and his fear gradually began to leave him. He pounded frantically on the warped bathroom door, unheeding the trembling groan from its hinges under his fists. "Serenity?"

Serenity's head snapped around in the dark bathroom. Her only light was a candle shielded from the trickling water by a small glass jar. In one fast motion, she turned off the rusting, leaky taps. "Joey?"

On the other side of the door, her big brother breathed a shuddering sigh of relief. "Yeah. I need to talk to ya."

Hastily, Serenity wrapped a towel around her and wrung out her sopping hair. With one hand, she grabbed the jarred candle, and with the other, she unlocked and cracked the door open so that half of her face was showing through. "Talk to me about what?"

"Listen, I just talked ta Mai, and the other side is scaring all of Domino with bomb threats. They say it's because our unit killed their captives."

Serenity just nodded and worriedly waited for him to continue.

"And I was thinkin' dat, well... Dat maybe dis has gone on long enough. I know dis guy dat can get us outta here, Ren." Joey watched his sister's face for a reaction.

She looked shocked and her mouth opened slightly. The thought had never even occurred to her. She had always thought that she and her brother would help fight it out until the end. "You mean: leave the country?"

"Yeah. Leave dis country and dis war," Joey replied, hoping she'd agree. "If we're gonna go, we gotta go soon. For some money, this guy'd smuggle us outta here, and den we wouldn't have ta be in dis war anymore."

"I don't know, big brother. I don't think I could leave... just like that." Serenity fixed her brother with wide honey-colored eyes. She slowly lowered her gaze, feeling unbidden tears pool together and threaten to stream down her cheeks. Honestly, she didn't know why she would be sad about leaving a country that had caused her nothing but heartache, but she had lived there all her life. It was like a part of her, and leaving it in the middle of a revolution just felt like abandoning it.

"Well, think about it, and lemme know, ok?" Joey asked as Serenity made to close the bathroom door.

A small nod.

"Hey," Joey suddenly said, putting his hand on the door to prevent her from closing it, "How did ya lose dat locket? I know it meant da world ta ya. Ya've had it foreva."

Serenity looked at her feet and opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she seemed to think better of it. Her eyes rose to match her brother's. "I... I d-don't know." With some hesitation, she pushed the door closed despite Joey's hand on it.

For a few moments, she just stood before the closed door with the dark of the small room appeared to stifle the small candle's flame. She bit her lip still staring blindly at the door. The petite girl couldn't help but wonder why she was lying. It wasn't something that was in her nature, and here she was, lying to her own brother.

She turned to the mirror and examined her reflection in the dim light of the candle. Everything about her reflection was so familiar... Tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. She knew that she was lucky to be standing there, looking at her reflection. Serenity wiped the tears out of her eyes with a careworn washcloth. _'And after all we've been through, we might just... leave...'_

An image flashed through her mind then. It was that one image that she feared and admired:

Icy blue eyes.

Her hand went to her neck, feeling the collarbone that had born her silver locket for so many years. She found herself fervently hoping that Marik wasn't going to do anything to him once he discovered what Seto Kaiba had done. No matter who it was, Serenity hated to see anyone be hurt. She would feel so guilty if anything happened to him because of her.

_'I owe him so much.'_

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_Elenion: Comments always appreciated, and PLEASE don't hesitate to correct my mistakes. _

_Chapter 4 is in the works._


	4. Chapter 4

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it._

_Yamiko Yakou- Will do. Thank you, it's great to hear stuff like that._

_Jem Star- lol. I try my best to get the chapters out ASAP... It doesn't always happen, but I do try. And I'm glad you liked it._

_Peneia Teke- Great eye! I'm soooo happy you pointed out that mistake. Don't you hate when that happens? That's one of my pet peeves the "your" or "you're" thing. So thanks!_

_Sakura- It's great to hear from you again. And plus, you're so into it. How did I get so lucky? Thanks!_

_Eternity's Angel- I just hope I can live up to your expectations. Or I guess, I should have said "write up to your expectations"... Thanks for the encouragement!_

_Jieli- Well, glad you like it. I thought Marik vs. Pegasus would be interesting. It's kinda hard to know who to root for. Yeah, the whole necklace thing was meant to be a very typical-Serenity moment. It just seemed to fit with her, and I'm glad you liked it. _

_Elenion: Sorry about the long time between updates! I was up the creek without a paddle, so to speak. My whole family was at a beach cottage without Internet access for a while... That and my laptop broke this week. So again, I'm really really sorry!_

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**_Chapter 4_**

Night had come down hard on the city. There was no moon and clouds of smog blocked all but a few stars from view.

Serenity chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, looking over the slums that she and her brother now lived in. Her hand fiddled with the blind that she was holding slightly open. The weather was always hazy nowadays. She couldn't even remember the last time that it was a beautiful sunny day. It must have been months ago.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed hers and the blind was pulled to its proper position, blocking the city from sight. Serenity's eyes widened and she whipped her head around to see eyes the color of her own but now hard and demanding.

"Serenity! How many times have I told ya ta keep da blind closed?"

The small girl sighed and cast a glance of the now-closed blind. "I was just-"

"It's for ya own good, ya know dat."

Serenity nodded dejectedly. "I'm sorry, big brother."

Joey sighed and pulled her into a soft hug. He didn't want to be strict. Hell, he had figured that if anyone in their apartment was going to be strict, it would have been Serenity. But now, even in the middle of the night, there she was, peaking out of the blinds. And for some unfathomable reason, she was doing this only hours after escaping from gods-knew-what type of place!

The golden-haired twenty-year-old wrinkled his brow. This was all giving him a migraine, and his ankle still hurt like hell. He waited a few moments before speaking again. "I don't wanna press ya, Ren ..."

She pulled away from his arms so that she could look at his face clearly as he spoke.

"... but I really need ya ta tell me if ya wanna get outta here or not. I need ta know soon."

Serenity fidgeted with a strand of her hair. "Joey, I don't really want to leave..." she said, as she looked at the closed blind again, "but I think that you should decide."

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With a quiet whir, the Kaiba Corp chopper descended smoothly, landing with pinpoint precision. The towering CEO strode importantly into the dilapidated office building that was actually the headquarters of the rebel movement. Most offices were closed during the day, and it was very suspicious for one to be open during the night... which was why Seto Kaiba was headed for the basement.

His blue eyes glared directly ahead of him, intimidating anyone in the hallways. His face was well-known there, and no one would dare cross him, especially in his present mood: dangerous.

The building was old, ancient even. It was obviously not cared for very well, but that was typical anywhere those days.

Kaiba stepped neatly into the beat-up elevator and pressed the button for the basement with his long index finger. With a jolt, it began slowly chugging its way to the bottom.

_Ding!_

He stepped smoothly off and bypassed the armed guard without so much as looking at him. Like the rest of the place, it was old, but this time, there was a foul smell- something like mold mixed with dead rodent. The entire place was setup just like an office building basement, but Kaiba had long known its secrets. It almost seemed like the rebels preferred such dark and dingy spaces for their meeting places. It was very unlike the movement's leader, Pegasus, but it wasn't altogether surprising.

'_Cheap bastard...'_

Grinning slightly, Kaiba silently pushed open the door with his fingertips marked _Electrical Equipment_ and found the usual spacious room with numerous security camera screens. Unaware of the new presence in the room, two men in collared shirts were staring at a monitor depicting the Kaiba Corp chopper and talking with disdain.

"That arrogant bastard always has to make an entrance," the first man barked.

"He may be an arrogant bastard, but he's a powerful arrogant bastard. Don't you forget it," the second man replied. He was the one Kaiba had come to see- the financial manager of the rebel movement.

Kaiba smirked. "If I'm such an arrogant bastard, why should I do business with you?"

The two men paled and whirled around.

"K-kaiba..." the first man said, knees shaking. He was obviously a rookie in all of this.

"Yes. And who the hell are you?" Kaiba growled.

The trembling man mouthed something silently before he left without another word, leaving the second man alone with one smug Seto Kaiba.

Kaiba fixed the man with his chilling stare. "I hope you're aware that the payment for my projection equipment your organization gave me was counterfeit."

The man passed a hand through his black hair and fidgeted with a ring on his bony finger. "I... I wasn't aware of that, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba's smirk widened. "You know. One of the required talents in this business is the ability to lie. I'd say, you never developed that talent."

The poor man swallowed. "I'm d-deeply s-sorry, sir... B-but I'm afraid we don't have a-anymore c-cash on hand at the moment..."

The sad part was, it was probably true. But that didn't mean shit to the CEO of Kaiba Corp.

"Uh-huh. Well, should I just take my equipment now, then?" He turned to go and retrieve it immediately. As much as it was amusing to see the financial manager dig his own grave, he was a man of business.

The poor man was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He was positively panicking. His superiors, primarily Pegasus, would have his head if he couldn't make some type of deal. "Mr. Kaiba, p-please reconsider."

"And just what do you have to offer me?"

The door burst open. A bald man with horn-rimmed glasses rushed in. "Sir! I thought you should know-"

Kaiba crossed his arms, impatiently waiting.

"- the other side has threatened to blast Domino City. Apparently, the negotiations with Marik Ishtar didn't work out. The man was killed, but it seems the girl escaped. I have the file here if you want to l-" The bald man paused in his fast-paced speech when he met the icy gaze of Seto Kaiba.

The financial manager gulped and turned back to the ice-cold CEO. He most likely wouldn't be pleased about the interruption. "M-mr. K-kaiba... I d-don't know wh-what you w-want."

Little did he know that the short bald man had just saved his ass. Kaiba's fingers were fingering a certain engraving on a silver locket that still remained in his coat. Seto Kaiba's eyes narrowed and a smirk played across his features. "You're in luck."

"Wh-what?"

In two long strides, Kaiba crossed the room and stood directly before the financial manager and the bald man. His height was intimidating enough, but it was the eyes that did the trick. "You give me that file, and I won't bother you anymore about the money."

The financial head was taken aback. Above all things, he had never expected this from Seto Kaiba. And what would the Great Seto Kaiba want with one of their files? "I... I don't th-think..."

"It's either that, or Kaiba Corp will be getting it's equipment back."

It appeared that he had no other choice.

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Joey sighed. "I guess we could stay h-"

_Ring ring!_

The siblings' heads snapped around to look at the phone. It was strange. Nobody ever called them, mostly because nobody outside of their organization was meant to know they lived there. It was a puzzle, that was for sure. Altogether, the phone was an ominous sound in the dark apartment.

"Maybe we shouldn't answer it, Joey..." Serenity whispered fearfully.

Joey shook his head, shaggy blond hairs falling before his eyes. "I dunno, Ren. Somethin' tells me I should..." His hand faltered a bit as it reached for the receiver. With a click, he picked up the phone. "H-hello?"

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_Elenion: Don't worry. The updates should be coming much more quickly than this last one. Well, school is starting up again, but that shouldn't be too much of an obstacle. Feedback, corrections, etc are always great!_


	5. Chapter 5

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion:_ _I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it._

_KrNKyutEe- lol. Sorry to keep you waiting and thank you! But the next chapter's here now, and that's all that matters, right? I hope so anyways..._

_kikoken- Thanks so much for the great compliment! It's always so nice to hear things like that. Makes me blush actually... Anyways, I won't waste any more of your time. I'm sure the story's much more interesting._

_Yamiko Yakou- Cliffhangers are possibly the most evil tool that any writer can use... You're so right about that. For that, I apologize. And you're very welcome for reviewing your stories. It was great fun. I mean, you're one of my favorite authors. Which reminds me, I have to get around to actually plugging in my favorites into my account._

_Eternity's Angel- Well, as for who's on the phone... you shall see. Lol. Don't you hate cliffhangers? But thanks, and I'll try to update often._

_Sakura- Very good guess. It just seemed like the most logical thing, didn't it? And don't worry, Seto and Serenity will meet up again... very soon._

_Baka Neko Molly-Chan- lol. What can I say? Thanks! Glad you liked it so much. Read on!_

_Princess Seren- Many thanks! I try to keep the plots interesting. But I do have a very bad habit of putting in cliffhangers. Sorry..._

_Elenion: I'll shut up now so that you can actually read the story._

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_**Chapter 5**_

Joey listened carefully to the phone line. There didn't seem to be any reply. That couldn't be a good thing. He took a breath, trying to let the airflow calm his shrilly singing nerves.

"Hello?" he repeated, less shakily this time.

_Silence._

Serenity wrung her hands worriedly together. From the confused look on her brother's face, it didn't appear that this call meant anything good for them. Despite herself, she just had to know. "Who is it, Joey?" she whispered softly.

There finally came a sound from the other line:

_Click. Dial tone._

Serenity saw her brother's eyes widen as the telltale buzzing filled his ears. Hand beginning to shake now, Joey pulled the receiver away from his ear. He gazed fearfully at it as if it had just uttered his death sentence right then and there. Somehow, Serenity's older brother felt that something wasn't quite right. He closed his hazel eyes, thinking.

"Joey..."

His eyes snapped open to stare straight into a more innocent, yet still similar, pair of eyes to his own.

"... who was it?"

Serenity watched as her brother swallowed, as he hesitantly returned the receiver to its rightful place. "It was... nobody."

At that particular moment, Joey was wondering what exactly he should tell her. The young blonde man didn't feel up to coming right out and saying that the call had scared the hell out of him. It meant that someone knew where they were... but they didn't know who exactly that "someone" was.

His eyes wandered into all the dark nooks and crannies of the drab apartment. Everything felt so foreign, as if this whole revolution was just part of some distant nightmare- that none of this was actually happening. But it was real. Every little speck of dust on the windowsills, every cracked and creaking floorboard was just as real as his little sister standing by his side.

And suddenly, looking around, he knew that he'd miss none of it.

Suddenly, his eyes hardened with resolve. This had all gone on far too long. Joey locked eyes with those of sister once more. In the dark light, their sweet honey color had been transformed to more of an ebony. _'She doesn't deserve ta live like dis...What did she eva do ta anyone?' _

Serenity chewed silently on her lip wondering what on earth was going through her big brother's head now. Some sort of change had come over him, and she didn't know what the outcome of it would be.

Putting on a brave face, Joey firmly grasped her slender, bruised hand. "Serenity, we're leavin'. Ta-night."

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A pair of steely blue eyes gleamed with unreadable emotions.

Seto Kaiba felt a grin creep over his shocking features as he smoothly flicked his cell phone closed and stashed it in his pocket.

_'Very interesting...'_

Methodically, his long, slender fingers traced over the engraved surface of the cold metal locket. It had become an inexplicable habit of his.

_'So I found you, kid.'_

Kaiba's gaze shifted to watch silently as the rebels' office building became virtually the size of a postage stamp. The soft purr of the Kaiba Corp chopper echoed all about him. His eyes were plagued with steely amusement. There would be hell to pay when Pegasus was informed that one of his confidential files had been bartered away. To Seto Kaiba, of all people.

The CEO's attention suddenly focused on the manila file folder laying open on his knee. At least the accuracy of this pathetic information was somewhat accurate. After some idiotic male had answered the phone, he'd wondered... But then he'd heard a familiar voice in the background: _"Who is it, Joey?"_

So her last name was Wheeler. When all was said and done, that didn't really mean much.

On closer examination, Kaiba saw that she did indeed have a brother- Joseph. The power-hungry man snorted contemptuously. _'Joey... What a stupid name...'_ It just rang of average intelligence, and that was one thing that the technology prodigy had really come to utterly despise.

But who really knew what else was in this file? Other than a phone number and some statistics, of course.

_Ring!_

Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously. _'This had better be fucking good.'_ His hand calmly plucked the obnoxiously ringing cell phone from his pocket. _'Those morons can never do anything right.' _The arctic eyes narrowed even further. How he hated incompetence...

"Kaiba," he said gruffly, yet authoritatively, into the small phone.

_"Sir, there's some activity from one of your orders. I thought that you'd want to be informed about it."_

At least it was something worth his while. "Which order?"

"_One minute, Mr. Kaiba..."_ There was a small pause that left Kaiba just enough time to nearly lose his patience. _"... It's Ishtar- the projection software and the... CRES."_

Kaiba grit his teeth at the name. CRES. He had never meant to call his project anything so ludicrous, but while he had been debating over names, his employees had thought up CRES. Needless to say, it just stuck.

_"Apparently they didn't suspect any tampering or surveillance on our part, sir."_

Kaiba smirked, despite himself. So Marik had decided to use the CRES afterall.

The CRES- Chain Reaction Explosive System: It was one of Kaiba Corp's best projects- and most profitable(despite its title). From long distances away, any one man could control exactly when to set off a series of highly-mechanized explosives. In small doses, these explosives were relatively weak, but in large batches, they were unbelievably effective. It gave a whole new meaning to 'the power of teamwork'.

Kaiba's steely eyes gleamed.

But the real beauty of the Chain Reaction Explosive System was that the blast could be recalled by the press of a button. The moment that the operator decided to abort, a signal immediately stopped the next explosive in the line from igniting. It was an easily-controlled, efficient weapon. So far, both sides had used the systems for various destructions to each other... but just in case, Kaiba had decided to survey each CRES. It was something that Kaiba had decided not to tell his clients.

_"They seem to be preparing their next target, sir."_

"I'll be right there."

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Serenity's head was bursting with new information as she was whisked through alleyways and past intersections. Her lungs were burning, but Joey didn't want to slow down. Not for anything. Granted, she couldn't blame him- the streets were no place for any unarmed person. However, the petite girl just needed some time to sort things out.

Insecure.

That was all she felt at that moment. Any other emotion she might have felt at that point had long since gone numb.

All her in her sight was a collage of dark images- mostly manmade. Streetlamps, parked cars, chipped sidewalks... It was going by so fast, Serenity barely had any clue where she and her brother were going. All in all, she felt liked she'd left her mind back in their apartment.

They came to an abrupt halt.

"We're... here," Joey panted.

Bewildered, Serenity gazed all around, trying to resume her normal breathing pattern. She didn't really know what he meant by 'here'. This place looked like just another dark alley. Nothing seemed to make sense. Long, heavy sprints were not something Serenity did on a daily basis... and it hurt. Every inhalation was painful, but Joey seemed unaffected.

"C'mon, sis," Joey said hurriedly, pulling her by her hand gently. He walked stiffly up to a door- it seemed just like any other apartment.

He knocked four consecutive times.

There was the obvious sound of bolts being undone on the door. With a creak on lopsided hinges, the heavy wooden door was swung open. Sparse lighting flooded through the open door, and someone stood silhouetted in the doorway... None other than-

"Mai!" Joey practically shouted in the quiet city air.

Her violet eyes gave him a dangerous look to shush him, yet at the same time, her hand shot out and dragged him and his little sister inside. "You're so surprised to see me, Joseph? I thought I talked to you about this not long ago..." Mai slammed the door nimbly behind them.

"I know, it's just-"

"This is the perfect time to get out of here, Joey. You _obviously_ know that too."

Serenity began looking around the room. It was mostly compromised of shades of faded red. At one time, it had probably been quite colorful- elegant even. It rang of extravagance and something bright and happy that had become tired. But now, time had worn it down just like everything else. It stood as a monument of nicer times when opening a blind wasn't dangerous. There was another door on the other side of the room... So what were they waiting for?

As if on cue, the door in the back opened almost with a flourish. A young man- not much older than Joey- came into the room with a confident stride. He was good-looking, and he seemed to know it, as he stared at the three occupants in the room with blazing emerald eyes. He brushed a stray strand of black hair from his face, as if annoyed that it hadn't stayed tied up. "Valentine, Wheeler, and..."

His voice trailed off as his gaze rested on Serenity.

"Wheeler," Joey said, nodding his head at his little sister.

He raised one black eyebrow, fiddling idly with a small die hanging from his ear. "Ah, so this is Serenity..."

So he knew who she was? This only managed to bring a headache crashing down onto the already perturbed auburn-haired girl.

Joey tapped his foot impatiently. "Devlin, just cut ta da chase. Ya know why we're here."

"Tsk, tsk. You didn't even allow me to introduce myself," the man said smoothly sharp green eyes boring into Serenity's. "I... am Duke Devlin."

"... pompous jerk extraordinaire," Mai hissed under her breath, but just loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Duke's eyes rounded on the violet-eyed blonde. "And I'm also you're only ticket out of here."

Mai was immediately silenced, but that sure as hell didn't keep her from glaring daggers at him. It wasn't that she hated him. On the contrary, she found Duke Devlin to be an all right guy. But she was in a rotten mood- simple as that. Anyone and everything was getting on her nerves, and it seemed to be rubbing off on other people like a disease.

'_Out of here?'_ Serenity sighed internally, feeling numbly defeated. So they were leaving the country afterall. It was only a matter of time before everything even remotely familiar to her was gone... and all she had were the clothes on her back and a useless ID.

"I figured you'd be back. You know, there's one leaving tonight. I can get you on it... for a fee." Devlin stated coolly. He was an operator for the rebels- he ran the cargo ships to and from neighboring countries. For a very large amount of cash, he was willing to "overlook" a few stowaways. But Serenity didn't know that. All she knew was that he was someone who was supposed to be able to pull some strings for them.

Everything had become corrupted, it seemed.

Joey and Mai exchanged a glance.

"Fine."

There was a rustle as an exchange of money for three small sheets of blue paper between the three people. Serenity bit back the urge to ask where exactly Joey had gotten money- of any substantial amount.

Duke flipped back that damned stray strand of jet hair, and with a flourishing smirk said, "Pleasure doing business with you." He then retreated back into the door at the back of the faded red room.

_Creak..._

The door opened, and Serenity felt herself being tugged out the door by a strong grip. She looked around Domino, this time thinking that perhaps it might be for the last time. "Big brother, where are we going?"

"Dock 118," her older brother answered mechanically, probably reading her answer off the small blue sheet of paper.

Mai was silent. Her violet eyes were glazed over- but whether it was in sadness or anger, no one could tell. And no one really wanted to find out.

"No," Serenity said, whispering now, "I meant... _where_..."

Joey caught on and sighed. "Russia."

"Russia?!"

Despair came crashing down around her. The petite girl tugged worriedly at a strand of auburn as she was lost in thought. She didn't know anything about Russia, and never in a million years had she ever dreamed that she'd live there.

Joey glanced strangely at her from the corner of his eyes. He didn't loosen his grip. The three of them just kept hurriedly walking. "Well, its so goddamn big nobody can find us. It's eitha dere or Indonesia. China's got too many anti-immigration laws, and nowhere else is close 'nuff ta get dere by boat."

"Boat?" Serenity bit her lip after asking that. Of course by boat... hadn't he said _Dock _118?

"It's da only ting we can afford," Joey said in a low voice. He couldn't deny it to his little sister... they were poor. Especially now. But it didn't really matter. All he needed to focus on now was finding Dock 118. In less than twenty-four hours, they would be safe.

Or that's what he thought anyway.

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Kaiba strode confidently through the engraved metal doors into his main computer console room. It was state of the art, but then, what at Kaiba Corporation wasn't?

The outside darkness receded, and everything was suddenly sparks of deep colors and silver. His icy blue eyes reflected the large KC logo shining electronically in the upper-left of the holographic monitor for a moment.

But that wasn't what he was looking for. He proceeded past the monstrosity of a computer into his personal office. The lights were dim, everything in the large room cleaned vigorously.

This was his dark sanctuary.

The ever-intimidating CEO tossed the manila folder casually onto his desk for later examining. As much as he loathed it, he had more pressing business... Kaiba flicked his cell phone open and swiftly pressed redial.

_"Kaiba Corp."_

"What do you have for me?"

_"Mr. Kaiba! I uploaded the surveillance to your laptop.."_

Kaiba smirked. These guys were getting better at shit like this... "And did Marik decide on his fucking target yet?" He said it almost tiredly, as if he had been doing this his entire life. But somehow, Kaiba still managed to sound full of complete and utter disdain. At that moment, he was devoid of emotion. It didn't really matter what part of this hellhole Marik decided to blow to bits. But somehow, Kaiba liked to know. It kept him in control.

That was what he loved... the satisfaction that he was in control- no matter what was happening.

_"Yes, Mr. Kaiba... It's... Dock 118, sir."_

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_Elenion: I know, I know... I left it hanging again... So sorry!_


	6. Chapter 6

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion:_ _I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it. My sincere thanks to anyone who remotely likes this story, and also my even more sincere apologies for any typos that are buried in here._

_Baka Neko Molly-chan- LOL. Don't worry... it's not too bad... But you'll see._

_Peneia Teke- Yeah... the whole stalking thing felt very Kaiba-like to me. I'm glad you agree. That and him being very in control. BTW, you have great writing skills and beautiful work._

_kikoken- Thanks! I try to keep them in character. Just drop me a note if something doesn't seem to work. Also, I love your work. I haven't read all of it yet, but of course I'm planning to (if my internet decides to work right for once). Till later!_

_Eternity's Angel- Yeah... You have to feel bad for them don't you. But it's better if you read it without me telling you anything. I'll try to get the next chapter out faster._

_Yamiko Yakou- Yay! You can review again! That's very good. How did you get around the firewall? I know people who've been struggling with those for weeks. Anyways, thanks a bunch!_

_Jieli- Ah, you like Duke? I was hoping people would find him interesting. Thanks. And yeah, I'm really bad about putting in cliffhangers. Sorry... It's one of my worst habits. Well, I hope you can update soon._

_Firekeeper727- Hey, I'm glad you checked this out. Your friend is a really talented writer, as you said. But thanks so much... and now you can just go ahead and read what comes next._

_PyroKittyKat- This didn't come out as quickly as I had hoped. But thanks! That's really nice to hear. Read on._

_KrNKyutEe- It's ok... Don't worry too much. I mean, well, you'll see. Lol._

_Elenion: So without further ado, here's the next chapter to this ever-continuing saga... _

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**_Chapter 6_**

_Tap. _

_  
  
Tap. Tap._

Kaiba moodily rapped his fingertips lightly on the fine wooden top of his desk, brooding it over. Of course, it made perfect sense. Blowing the rebel docks was one of the first things that anyone with half a brain would have done. Marik almost seemed to have waited too long. But then, you never really knew when it came to Marik.

"_Mr. Kaiba, the surveillance has completely loaded onto your laptop now."_

So it had.

"I'll take it from here," Kaiba stated roughly, flicking his cell phone closed. His communication line was snapped shut now- and that was how he liked it.

Alone.

He had always worked better alone... in the swelling shadows of his private office. It was his only place of peace; it always had been. Apart from the rest of the world... He didn't need anybody- not now, not ever. Dragons never did- they were solitary.

With one fluid motion, the towering man slipped into his leather desk chair. A smirk was squirming its ruthless way onto his face. From this one laptop, he had control of virtually all of his company. It was a hellishly good feeling.

'_This will be interesting.'_ There was always a certain satisfaction that came with seeing one of his inventions in action- no matter how violent.

To him, violence really didn't matter. It was just a power-struggle. To Kaiba, there was nothing shameful or particularly despicable about it. If that was what needed to be done, then so be it.

Some called him heartless.

For the most part, those people were right.

Kaiba prided himself on that. Emotions were a waste of his time. Kaiba Corp was his life, and he didn't need anything else. Opportunity was knocking, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste because of idealistic morals.

With dexterous movements, the CEO's fingers whisked over the keyboard of his laptop- identity sequence after identity sequence... until finally, he was granted access to his personal mainframe. His steely blue eyes gleamed coldly reflecting the light glow of the screen. Shadows were cast over his pale face from under the fine chestnut hair falling in his eyes' way.

It took one swift glance over the desktop to find what Kaiba was looking for- the surveillance file his underlings had sent him.

_Click._

A whole nother screen popped into view, providing a coded digital map showing the precise location of each individual CRES explosive- now planted around Dock 118. It was in wonderful detail, particularly for such short notice.

But that wasn't quite enough for the technology prodigy.

Nope. Kaiba wanted _video_ surveillance- and he was going to get it. Afterall, no one could beat his hacking skills.

He was a dragon- no one dared to mess with him.

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Serenity watched misty-eyed as all the familiar places trickled away from sight like milky sand through her fingers. All the while, the petite girl was wondering why she was feeling such overwhelming guilt for leaving a place like... this.

No matter what the reason... it was happening. And it didn't feel good.

They were getting closer to the docks now. The crisp smell of salt in the pre-dawn air was getting thicker and thicker. Altogether, it wasn't a bad smell- not at all- but to Serenity, it meant something deeper. It meant leaving...

She glanced up once worriedly, seeing the mechanical gleam of a camera lens watching. Her hand instinctively tightened on her brother's, but she dared not speak. You never knew when someone might be listening. Joey gave her a pointed look that told her clearly not to worry about it. They'd paid to get out and there was very little that could put a stop to that.

Yet it was still unnerving. Small mechanical eyes were watching their every step.

Mai tugged nervously on Joey's arm. With her free hand, the violet-eyed blonde tentatively pointed to something... A cargo boat. It was a large monstrosity of coldly gleaming metal rising like a great mammoth from the depths of the sea. Its sides had become somewhat soiled and rusted from endless days on the salty waters, but the beast still seemed to create a dominating presence- like something from a child's story. Unlit windows watched the three young people approach warily, measuring their insignificant size up its own.

The normally collected blonde woman felt her blood churn icily through her veins and she shivered violently for a moment. To tell the truth, this ship wasn't what she had expected. It was their way to freedom- and yet it looked just as oppressive and chilling as the darkest corner of Domino ever had.

They stood in silence for a moment... in a mix of awe and horror.

Joey was the first to recover. His resolute hazel eyes passed once over the two blue slips of paper in his hand. "Well, what are we waitin' for?" Without another look at the two girls beside him, he strode resolvedly to the entry ramp- the path to freedom.

In the pitch air before the ramp, he paused. There he took one look around him, almost as if he was checking to be certain that it was all real.

With a flurry of dully shining golden hair, Mai hoisted her purse further up onto her shoulder and followed after him. All of her inherent confidence had drained from her. She had no shame left as her hand timidly wandered into his, and there their hands remained as they stood silhouetted before the beast on the open ocean.

But Serenity didn't move. She _couldn't_ move. Her eyes observed her brother and friend innocently... just waiting in the bitter silence broken only by the rustling waves.

Together, the couple walked cautiously over the boardwalk, never even guessing that the third member of their party wasn't in tow. For once, Serenity was lingering behind. But Mai was comforted by the firm grip Joey had on her hand- something that she would never admit aloud- and Serenity had slipped from her mind.

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Kaiba listened keenly in the tense silence of his personal office. He was waiting for the sign from his laptop... Then, there it was, spoken in its mechanical voice:

"_Access granted into Domino City Cargo-Shipping surveillance database."_

Arctic eyes burned in chilling triumph. He was wearing the look now that many men both loathed and feared- his look of complete, intimidating control. It was wonderful.

His fingers agilely maneuvered over the keys, tapping with dead-on precision exactly what he wanted... The fruits of his labors came quickly. His laptop was suddenly presented with a choice of over 140 locations. Right now, all he wanted was one:

_Dock 118._

The CEO was immediately presented with a choice of five cameras- each from a different part of the dock.

_'Not bad...'_

He focused his eyes on the first. There were three humanoid figures moving around in the shadowy area- one slightly apart from the others. It was strangely out of place on the dock. People were never out there at this hour... unless...

Kaiba chuckled deeply.

Of course... they were stowaways- people making one last desperate attempt at leaving the country before the situation got any worse. It was so desperate... so vulnerable.

It was downright entertaining.

Possibly he could see who they were... right before Marik ended their miserable lives for them. They were as good as dead by that point.

But before he could view any more, the AI voice of his computer spoke up:

_"Please wait... Incoming data..."_

Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned back in his leather chair with folded arms... waiting for the information to download. Interruptions were becoming part of his daily life. It was hellishly annoying, and it made Seto Kaiba even more moodily dangerous than usual.

"_Data loaded."_

A screen popped up. CRES and the projection software were armed and ready.

Now it was the tense calm before the storm. Adrenaline was probably rushing through whatever person was operating the system that day. It would only take one small phone call to that very person- and there wouldn't be a Dock 118 any longer.

It was an exciting feeling, having such control of nature and man alike.

Kaiba's eyes were glittering now, watching with hawk-like intensity. He had the look that signaled he was ready to kill. He suddenly leaned forward, elbows on the desk, pressing the tips of his long, pale fingers together in deep eagerness and thought.

What Marik- and nobody else for that matter- didn't know was that Kaiba Corp had taken the precaution of setting in an _override system_ to every Chain Reaction explosive. At any moment, Kaiba could not only _watch_ his systems, but from his personal mainframe, he could _stop_ them as well.

It almost seemed worth his while to abort this system... just to piss Marik off.

'_I've been doing that a lot lately.' _The young CEO thought with a bitter grin. His hand consciously snaked into his coat pocket and hooked itself around a delicate metal chain. The silver shown coldly in the dimmed office lighting. _'What a fool...'_

His eyes flicked back to the screen with triumph. It was all set up... The fate of Dock 118 was at his fingertips. All Kaiba needed was to press the ENTER key, and the explosives would stop.

But he'd never done it before. And, as much as he might like to, he certainly wouldn't do it now.

Casually using one hand, he switched back to the video surveillance screen. The figures were still there- moving around. If only he could get the cheap camera to zoom in... The camera was refocusing now... it was on the back of one farthest from the ship. It was a female... that much was certain. Rather small too... with long hair.

Kaiba gritted his teeth. The resolution of the lens wasn't worth a dime. Whatever company designed them was certainly not his. All the features were blurry beyond recognition. He wouldn't be able to see much of whoever the pathetic girl was unless she turned around.

'_This is just plain irritating.'_

He carelessly flicked a key, looking for a new camera angle. The screen lit up with a sudden camera angle... of a very familiar image.

Kaiba's hand reflexively tightened its grip, crushing down on a certain silver locket, eyes staring unblinking at the screen.

His computer spoke again: _"Please wait... The Chain Reaction Explosive System has been activated."_

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Serenity watched as her brother and significant other reached the other end of the ramp, both standing in the doorway to the cargo ship. They were one step closer to freedom...

Joey pivoted slightly, remembering that his baby sister should be right behind him. But she wasn't...

"Ren?"

His head whipped up violently- eyes settling on a frozen auburn-haired girl with her toes on the very edge of the ramp. The young blonde man was plummeted into confusion. His brow furrowed and he beckoned her toward him with his free hand. "C'mon, sis! What're ya waitin' for?"

If he had thought that those words would break some sort of spell over her, he was gravely mistaken. Instead, she stared at him with those misting honey eyes- unmoving- so close and yet so far.

She felt uneasy, and she couldn't figure out why. Some demonic presence seemed to be lurking just beyond her realm of comprehension.

"Serenity? What are you doing, hon?" It was Mai this time, watching her friend with scrutinizing eyes.

Joey felt a touch of panic now. There was no telling what was going through his sister's head. All he wanted was for her to come across the ramp and join them. "Ren! C'mon! We're gonna leave dis place!"

Serenity finally moved- but not in the way he'd hoped- she slowly shook her head, whispering more to herself than anyone else: "This is all wrong."

That was when all hell broke loose.

A monster of sorts broke through the wooden dock- shattered splinters raining down into the sea. All the world thundered around her in a monstrous wall of debris. Confusion slammed around her like a strangling cloak- choking out every last breath. The dock was writhing beneath her, and with each passing moment, whatever it was came closer.

The demon found her... Serenity felt her feet leave the ground.

From then on, it was only broken pictures... The dark predawn sky- closer now than she'd ever seen it before... Her pale hand stretched out before her, reaching, reaching... Voices screaming something incoherent...

Pain.

Boiling hot pain wracked her petite frame, seeping through her bones.

There was no sound now- only the constant screeching of the dock as splinters flew airborne for a moment with the salty sea spray. It was all a jumble- a collage of images flooding her vision- making her delusional.

Her petite body crumpled onto a rigid surface, the back of her head smacking onto the inflexible wood.

Serenity couldn't move. Darkness was encroaching around her, and groping icy fingers of air made her body shiver violently. Her eyes watched the snaking motion of the rising fountains of debris. Nothing was really making sense. Her mind was stuck- just as unmoving as she was- frozen in a moment of time.

There was nowhere to go now... whatever was happening hadn't finished yet.

Distantly, she could hear someone hoarsely shouting... shouting her name...

"SERENITY!!!!"

...but somehow, it seemed to be getting farther away- drifting off on some unseen tide of time or consciousness. The unexplored realms of her mind enveloped her, then.

Then a pinpoint of light seemed to expand, molding into something... expanding to the size of a person. It began to take shape, morphing, twisting, mutating. A pair of cold lavender eyes surveyed the situation happily... then that sharp laugh as the man brushed a champagne-blonde strand of hair from his eyes.

Serenity's blurring eyes widened in horror, and she recoiled from him with a scream rising in the back of her throat. How she feared that man... But her vision was darkening now, possessed and taken by the spirits of the dock.

It seemed that this was the end.

And seemingly out of nowhere she thought of one last thing... one last image yanked violently from her realm of sanity:

Icy blue eyes burning into her very soul.

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No one would have been able to tell what he was thinking. No one would even have dared to try.

He stared emotionless at the screen, watching in silence at as his project possessed the dock, claiming it for its own before the small splinters crashed into the waves. Marik's projection of himself was standing, dominating the dock as it was destroyed from beneath his despicable digital feet. That alone sent Kaiba's mind into a dangerous rage, however, that was not enough to act irrationally.

But there was another factor now... something he hadn't counted on.

_'What use is she to me?'_

But something was cutting through his pale skin... something small and delicate- the locket. Dully shining in the shadowed light was the single word it bore: _Serenity._ It was almost a reminder of something... something that he couldn't quite put a finger on. Almost like something he'd forgotten.

And at that moment, the heartless Kaiba did the unexpected... something not even the dragon himself could explain.

His fingers punched down with deadly force on the ENTER key.

"_Chain Reaction Explosive System aborted."_

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_Elenion: Hmmm... Don't know how this went. Hope you liked it. You know, part of the reason this took so long was because my friend got me hooked on the manga "Fruits Basket". If any of you want to check it out (if you haven't already), I think it's really sweet. Tohru kind of reminds me of Shizuka/Serenity._


	7. Chapter 7

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion:_ _I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it._

_Yamiko Yakou- Thanks so much. –blushes- As for Marik... Well, I picture him as Hikari Marik only before he was separated from his Yami and saw the error of his ways. He's not possessed or anything, he's just (like you said) an ass. That's my vision of him here. And the chapters are short... I feel bad about that, but it just helps me get them out faster (of course, it's bad for readers because there's more cliffies that way). I think that the chapters may get longer as time goes by... Not sure though. Thanks again!_

_Peneia Teke- Kaiba did just sit there for a while, didn't he? I mean, I guess at least he did stop it, but he sure did take his own sweet time. You're very welcome for the comments. You write very nicely and with a lot of realism. Keep it up!_

_Walis- Skilled cliffies... yeah. I've noticed that I put a lot of those in here. But thanks for the compliments! That was really nice of you. And, lol, don't worry, I will update ASAP no matter if I'm dying to read Fruits Basket or not. And as for if Kaiba stopped it in time, well, you'll see. But like you said, that would be a real plot-killer if he didn't. btw, I hope you're planning on updating "Ghost" soon. That fic of yours made me laugh so hard!_

_pink-strawberries- Ah, another Fruits Basket fan! I see I'm not alone. It is very lovable, isn't it? It really sucks that there's only 4 volumes out in America, though... Ugh. But anyways, thanks so much!_

_Jieli- Wow, thanks a bunch! You make it sound like I'm doing everything right! I tried to put a few twists in the story so it would be kinda unique, and from what you said, it sounds like I achieved my goal. And, yes, Fruits Basket! I mean, you just have to love it, don't you? I've only read the manga. I haven't seen it yet, but from what I understand, they only did one season... Sigh. C'est la vie._

_kikoken- It does seem like Kaiba's seen the light (but it took him long enough, I mean, she could have died). And like you said, it's about time he did something not evil. Also, I want to say that you really are very good at suspense. And, I mean, who doesn't take an idea from a movie every now and then? I've done it before... The thing is that you've made the stories so your own that even if you did base a part of it off the movie, you'd really never know. Anyways, thanks a bunch and I look forward to your updates!_

_Eternity's Angel- Yes, it sure did take Kaiba long enough. He really does need to do something. I mean, it's half his fault that whole thing happened anyhow. And I sure as hell know what you're talking about with school. It's like a time-eating machine. Pure evil, I tell you. All we can do is hang on and try to get through... Sigh. Well, thanks and keep on reading!_

_PyroKittyKat- Hey thanks! I try to keep it interesting. Just tell me if it's not, cuz I'll have to remedy that right away. But I'm wasting your time gabbing, aren't I? I'll stop so that you can get to the meat of the story..._

_KrNKyutEe- Well, I wrote it from Serenity's perspective... so yeah, it is confusing. Ok. So basically, what happened was this: explosives all along the dock begin going off, hell breaks loose, all that jazz. Serenity is thrown into the air, lands, and a projected image of Marik is shown in the middle of the still-exploding dock... kind of like a signature is you will. Kaiba stops the explosive system from his computer before it causes any more damage. I think that's the gist of it._

_Baka Neko Molly-chan- Yes, last chapter was short. Unfortunately, so is this one. They will get longer... but for now, I think I like them better short. Don't ask. I'm weird like that. Thanks so much! Glad you like it! And, yeah, Fruits Basket is really good. I'm soooo hooked._

_tearz4yoo- You like the idea? Thanks, glad to hear it. As for where I'm going... well, that's a secret. I know it sounds cruel, but, yeah... Stay tuned for the next episode!_

_Elenion: Well, read on! _

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**_Chapter 7_**

"What the _fuck_ is going on?!?!"

The worker gulped heavily, his boss watching him like a vulture. All his courage had evaporated, leaving him with raw fear grating against every nerve. He wanted to run screaming bloody murder out of that dark room full of computer monitors... but running would only make it worse.

"I... I d-don't know, Mr. Ishtar, s-sir," the poor man whispered hoarsely, eyes frozen on his monitor.

Those deadly lavender eyes flashed with blinding fury. "Well, if you value one insignificant hair on your miserable body, you'd fucking better _find out_!!!!"

The worker stared at his trembling fingers, willing them to move across the keyboard. But he didn't even know where to start. The only thing his mind was telling him was the list of obscenities being shoved down his throat.

"Well?" Marik hissed, throwing a strand of champagne-blonde behind his ear.

"M-mr. Ishtar, th-there should be n-nothing wrong..."

"Does it look like I care what it _should_ be?"

The worker tried to steady his breathing. One wrong word and he'd be out on the streets without a job. No. Scratch that. He'd be out in the streets with flies crawling over his lifeless corpse. That was the type of man that Marik Ishtar was...

However, he had been telling the truth. All system checks of the CRES prior to detonation had affirmed that there was nothing wrong. Furthermore, any Kaiba Corp product was backed by Seto Kaiba himself. In all actuality, the only thing that could have stopped the Chain Reaction Explosive System was the operator.

But _he_ hadn't done anything...

Marik watched his employee sway beneath his wrath like a feather in a windstorm. In any other situation, he would have been quite pleased... but it just had not been a good day. First Seto Kaiba himself... and now the CRES. "Don't you have _any_ ideas at all?"

"N-no, sir... unless th-there's another operator..."

Marik snorted, ironically amused by his underling's suggestion. It was amazing what types of idiotic answers people would think up just to keep their filthy little jobs. "That's impossible, you fool."

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The silence.

That was what was most eerie... the dead, wispy silence.

It was possible that the only sound for miles was the barely audible whir of the Kaiba Corp copter blades overhead. The two pilots watched as the desolate cityscape vanished beneath them replaced by an endless row of docks.

"So... exactly why are we doing this?" one of the pilots asked in a somewhat hushed voice.

The other pilot, who had a noticeable scar from the right corner of his right eye to his chin, snorted. "If anyone can read the mind of Seto Kaiba, I'll give him my firstborn child."

The first pilot felt a laugh ready to burst from his throat, but it died on his lips. Any thought of mirth or joking was gone. "Oh... oh my gods..." His gloved hands trembled on the chopper's controls for a moment, eyes wide behind the tinted goggles.

You would think after so many years of terror, two chopper pilots would be used to seeing destruction around every street corner. But for some reason, they had just never gotten hardened to it. Some things just aren't meant to be unseen. And at times, they hated themselves for the jobs that they took- for an opportunist using the revolution as a child would a toy.

But it wasn't their job to question... even if they had to bite their tongues.

"So this... is Dock 118."

The chopper glided down to rest on the pavement about one hundred feet from the dock. It just wasn't safe enough to actually land on the splintered remains.

Looking for some girl would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Especially when Marik Ishtar's goons might show up at any second with an array of 9mm's ready to say hello. It wasn't an enviable situation. Not in the least.

The pilot with the scar down his cheek gingerly tested his weight on a board before taking a step. He swallowed gingerly, trying to fight down any sense of anxiety. The demonic shadows were toying with his mind. It was almost as if they were grinning at him, teasing him.

His fellow pilot was climbing over a fallen wall of debris in the opposite direction. Time was of the essence. The man gritted his teeth soundly. If he knew his boss, Kaiba was probably watching them right now... with that awful grin on his face that didn't in the least extend to his cold, cobalt eyes.

Then he heard his scarred companion's voice over their headset communication link. "Hey, Keisuke? I... I think I found her."

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Marik cracked his knuckles menacingly, not leaving the monitor that clearly showed that his little escapade had failed. It didn't make any sense... and that was what really pissed him off.

"Can't you do _any_thing?" he hissed in his quivering employee's ear.

This only resulted in his employee quivering more violently. If Marik hadn't known better, he would have thought that the man was having a seizure. Not that he would have cared...

With knotted brow, Marik snatched his cell phone from the hand of his hard-faced bodyguard. He punched the numbers in with forceful, choppy movements, such that it was a wonder that the small piece of technology didn't fall apart in his hands.

"Hello, this is Kaiba Corp. How may I be of-" 

"Cut the bullshit, wench. Put Kaiba on the phone," Marik snapped sharply into the mouthpiece.

There was a pause in which the "wench" was probably recomposing herself. When she spoke, it was stiffly. _"May I ask who's calling?"_

"Ishtar."

Another silence. This time probably out of shock. _"One moment, Mr. Ishtar."_

Marik spent the next minute or so thinking up every possible threat that he could throw in Kaiba's direction. The stupid system he'd sent them was faulty, even if all the checks had proved otherwise... It _had_ to be faulty.

A voice was on the other line again- but it was still the secretary. _"Mr. Kaiba is unavailable at the moment, sir."_

"Well, he'd better _make_ himself fucking available!"

_"I'm sorry, sir. But Mr. Kaiba has explicitly instructed that no one bother him today."_

With that, she hung up. Probably sore at being called a wench... or it could have been his excessive profanity.

Marik twitched for a moment, listening with gathering rage to the dial tone buzzing in his ear. How he hated when Kaiba got the best of him. If there was one person Marik wanted to see dead, it was the Great Seto Kaiba. But he couldn't do anything about that...

All his frustrations built into a virtual wave of burning anger, and Marik hurled the cell phone against the nearest wall. It clattered to the floor- now in halves. But the label on it- KC- mocked him still...

"You'd better figure out what happened..."

The employee nodded, wondering if his fate was going to be much like that of the cell phone. "I... I c-can g-get a video f-feed from the d-dock..."

Marik's eyes narrowed. "Do that, then."

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She was small, vulnerable, beautiful... crumpled on the wooden shards like some poor, broken doll. The shadows seemed to hang over her, as if they were attempting to swallow her whole.

The two pilots could do nothing but stare down at her for a few minutes.

_'What could Seto Kaiba want with a girl like her?'_

Even as she lay pale and glistening with cold sweat, the auburn-haired girl seemed a memorial of innocence- of a life long-forgotten since the revolution began. And it made the pilots hate themselves even more. They didn't know who she was or where she came from... all they knew was that if they couldn't bring her back to Kaiba Corp headquarters, then they'd be forced to face the wrath of the CEO himself.

The scarred pilot bent down and took a good look at her, assessing her wounds carefully before he dared touch her. There was a great deal of tension in the dusty air. It made the man shiver, despite himself. "Keisuke... what time is it?"

"4:53 am."

There was no real way to tell how badly injured she was there in the dark. Even if she did have serious back or head injuries, they didn't have the time or equipment to properly take care of her. "Help me get her back to the chopper, will you?"

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_'What... what's happening?'_

Everything was reeling. It almost felt like the floor beneath her was moving. A faint hum was in her ears, and she could have sworn that she'd been wrapped in some sort of blanket.

Try as she might, her eyes wouldn't open.

Serenity swam in and out of consciousness, with little energy to do much else. Her mind was still frozen, as it had been when she'd seen Marik's face... laughing...

But now there was silence, and she felt suspended in air.

'_Is this what it's like to die?'_

It almost sounded like people were talking... but nothing was really comprehensive. She felt as if she had no feeling- she was numb. And she slipped back into the dark again.

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The chopper flew in a high arch, circling the remains of Dock 118 once before heading smoothly back to their headquarters. There was a strong gale working against them, and a thick cloud of dusty remnants from the aftermath made the vision poor... but the two pilots had few doubts as to what they were doing.

The first pilot, Keisuke, pivoted his head once to look with mixed emotions at the petite girl laying in the back covered by a ratty old blanket they'd managed to find. He felt a well of pity flush out to her, willing her to open her eyes. Bruises and scratches, both small and large, stood out painfully on her delicate cheeks. Keisuke could only imagine who she was... what she had done to deserve something like this.

"Keisuke..."

The pilot looked around to see his companion staring at him.

"Keisuke, she's still alive. That's all we have to care about."

That was true. But still... he couldn't help but wonder why he had ever gotten involved in this war. He'd taken the job for money, that much was true... but he wondered if he would have stayed in Japan had he known what this revolution would bring to the city he once loved.

"Keisuke..."

Even his fellow pilot bore a scar from this rebellion- right down the right half of his face. One of Pegasus' men had decided they didn't like the Kaiba Corp pilot very much and had tried to teach him a lesson.

"Keisuke..."

"We'd better tell Mr. Kaiba we're coming."

His companion sighed. Obviously, whatever it was, Keisuke didn't want to talk about it. Not that he could blame him. This whole situation was more than he could handle sometimes. "Keisuke, why don't you do the honors?"

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"_This is chopper KC169. We're on our way, Mr. Kaiba."_

Two blue eyes burned acidly in the darkness. "And did you get what I asked for?"

"_Yes, sir. Still alive... miraculously..."_

"Good."

_Click._

Those fools were probably bursting with questions. And yet, they probably hated him at the same time. In fact, they were probably feeling sorry for her... wondering what types of tortures he would subject her to...

They didn't know him at all.

Everyone thought they might be able to figure the blue-eyed dragon out... But no one ever succeeded. Not even his own little brother.

Kaiba rolled the delicate silver chain between his thumb and forefinger, reveling in the way it gleamed under the dim lighting. He was in a state of dark chaos, and his teeth suddenly grounded down. For all his amazing genius, he didn't understand what his motives were. Then, they might present themselves in time. But it was so damn frustrating...

And then there was Marik to deal with... No doubt he'd already called in an attempt to harass him. The blonde bastard would obviously try to claim that the CRES had been faulty.

Far from. It had worked perfectly.

Kaiba's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden alarm from his glowing laptop: _"Warning. Unauthorized user located."_

The CEO quickly clicked over a few things... and he smirked evilly. It was Marik, trying to hack into the Domino City Cargo-Shipping surveillance database. What Marik didn't know was that Kaiba had purposefully blocked all other users from accessing that particular database. Afterall, it would be quite detrimental to the Corporation if Marik Ishtar saw a KC chopper at the scene of his failed operation.

Kaiba's smirk widened. Marik was probably going berserk about now. Not only had the CRES failed and Kaiba refused to answer his call, but his employees would have no way to even access the information on the Domino City Cargo-Shipping database... at least not until Kaiba had finished with it.

His chopper and its cargo had to be a safe distance away first...

Marik... It was so entertaining just to piss him off. But even so, Kaiba realized he was playing a dangerous game. If you compared it to chess, he'd just made a very risky and foolhardy move. And he was awaiting his opponent's turn... But if Kaiba worked smoothly enough, Marik wouldn't even realize he'd made a bad move.

And the calculating dragon had every intention of making this work smoothly... No matter what the consequences entailed...

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_Elenion: Well, tell me what you think so far! School has begun once more, so please forgive my snail-pace._


	8. Chapter 8

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion: Ok. I don't have any great excuse for my absence. I'm REALLY SORRY, ok? Anyways, I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it._

_Yamiko Yakou- Hikari Marik never really struck me as some nice kid, either. Not as bad as his Yami, of course, but still an ass. I will read and review your stories pronto! My apologies! I really missed them._

_Peneia Teke- About Mokuba: yes he will be in the story, but not a major part. Of course, that's what I say now… May change. And yes, Mr. Ice does meet Serenity this chapter. I can here Beethoven's Fifth playing now._

_Walis- I've been gone too long, so forgive me, but what exactly is a C2 Community? I'm so lost… But thanks, and I see you updated 'Ghost' while I was gone! Fun fun! Gotta love good old pain-in-the-ass Kaiba._

_Kikoken- I totally know what you mean about the whole dragon thing. I mean, it just fits him so well. He practically IS a dragon. Can't wait to see the stuff you've updated!_

_pink-strawberries- Sorry to make you wait. Heh…_

_Jieli- Amazingly, my dad got me the Fruits Basket anime for Xmas. Yay! I haven't watched it yet, but I will, and then I'll get back to you on that. All my friends (who are into it) have decided whether they prefer Kyo or Yuki. I'm kinda wavering in the middle right now… I'm sure I'll decide sometime._

_Eternity's Angel- High school sucks. It's like a huge prison or something with no compliments for creativity. Unfortunately, it's illegal not to go. Hope you can keep reading!_

_ThePianoFiend- Thanks so much. Nice name, by the way._

_krNKyutEe- No problem. And the start of the SxS begins this chapter… It won't go super-fast or anything, but it begins._

_ashley- I've been feeling guilty lately about my chapter lengths… I will try to make them longer, really I will. And about Mai and Joey- that will be told soon._

_PinkStarz- Thanks soooo much! I feel so happy! Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations…_

_Serendy4evr- Yes, our dear friend Kaiba will confuse poor Serenity quite a bit, I'm afraid. And about Joey and Mai, you'll see._

_GlitterKitten- Wow, thank you. You're much too kind. So sorry to keep you waiting._

_ChildlikeEmpress- You know, I was actually thinking how this seems like the French Revolution. Funny, huh? I wanted to ask, did you form your name from 'The Neverending Story' or is that just a coincidence?_

_Elenion: Once again, I beg for your forgiveness in my lateness. Happy Winter Break (trying to be PC here)! Oh, yes, here enters Mokuba, our little voice of reason._

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**Chapter 8**

A rustle.

A blur.

Two honey eyes slowly flickered open as if it was their first time. But she was only greeted with dark. Everything was quiet and still. She closed her eyes again.

No sound. No movement. No light.

Serenity swallowed, not fully understanding. All the puzzle pieces of her memory were not quite piecing themselves together. And to top it all off, any movement was pained and sloppy. Her eyes closed again. All alone in the dark somewhere, the petite girl began to hear echoing voices resounding from jogging pieces of her memory.

"_C'mon, sis! What're ya waitin' for?"_

_"Serenity? What are you doing, hon?"_

_"Ren! C'mon! We're gonna leave dis place!"_

And then it all came crashing down again. The ship, the dock, the explosion, the voices calling her name, the laughing… It all came back, and it was overwhelming. Tears stung behind her cemented eyelids and soon leaked out down her cheeks.

So where were Joey and Mai now? Where was she? Was she dead?

It took the small girl some minutes before she even realized that her weepy eyes were open again. It was all dark, and for a few moments, Serenity possessed the wonderful thought that maybe- just maybe- it had all been a hallucination or nightmare. Maybe Joey was waiting for her in the other room- with an empty stomach as usual. Maybe all the sounds, pain, and fear- maybe they were all just manifestations of her subconscious.

But then her eyes adjusted, and all those hopes went to hell.

A heart-wrenching moan escaped her lips as she painfully curled into a fetal position and hugged her knees to her chest comfortingly. That was her typical response to anything traumatic- the first day her father hit her, the day her mother died, and now… this.

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Seto Kaiba looked at his two pilots with some disdain. Protectively, as would a dragon guarding his lair, Kaiba stood before the door of his private office with crossed arms. He bore a condescending light in his eyes as he read their names straight out of his impossibly fast memory.

"Pilots Keisuke and Midou, correct?"

The one with the nasty scar- Midou- nodded silently, casting a glance at his shoes. Anything was better than to brave the cold of that man's eyes.

Kaiba felt a smirk form on his features. He easily towered over them- both in physical and mental stature. The best part was that they both knew it. "You both may go," then he added as a 'generous' afterthought, "Be sure that the secretary puts a significant zero on the end of your paycheck."

Midou took a breath, preparing to walk out of Kaiba Corp unscathed with a fair- if not guilty- reward. He wouldn't have asked any questions… But his companion just had to go and ruin it.

"What are you going to do with her?"

Kaiba stopped in mid-turn, frozen there for a second, allowing just enough time for the unwitting pilot to realize the possible consequences of his actions. He was a master of timing- that and scaring the shit out of people. Slowly, in that menacing way which gave many the chills, the icy-eyed man turned and fixed the accuser with an unyielding cobalt stare. "I believe…"

Keisuke straightened his back in a semblance of bravery.

"… that you have forgotten you're place, pilot."

Midou tensed, concerned for the well-being of his fellow pilot. Anyone who dared cross Seto Kaiba was usually psychologically cut down and thrown out on the streets. The scarred pilot ground his teeth together painfully. But to his surprise the dangerous CEO chuckled- albeit, darkly- but it wasn't what anyone would have expected.

"You're a fool," the icy-eyed man growled, amused, "But you're a brave fool."

That seemed to be the cue to leave, as Kaiba turned abruptly once more to return to his dimly lit sanctuary. Midou grabbed his companion roughly by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the building without so much as a word. He was only following the golden rule of Kaiba Corp: What you don't know, don't ask.

Kaiba whipped the door open and paused, finding a surprise.

Someone was in his way…

A certain, honey-eyed someone.

There was a long silence- both slightly shocked- although the girl more so than the other. The dragon suppressed all emotions from his face as the petite girl stared straight into his intimidating eyes. It was obvious that she so desperately wanted to ask him one hundred questions, but no words were coming. Internally, Kaiba was having a strange struggle of emotions. Why had he risked his neck? What on earth had possessed him to do that? And then, the infamous CEO wondered how she was even conscious let alone walking around.

Finally, her mouth remembered its purpose. "Why?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Partly, because there was no real answer.

Her face was streaked with tearstains, but she'd quite obviously calmed herself down somehow. Suddenly, she snapped her head down to stare at her bare feet. "Why…?" she whispered more- to herself this time.

Why was she here? Why had the dock been blown to bits? Why had she woken up in a dark room with carefully laid bandages? Why had that room led into another with a laptop? Why was she facing Seto Kaiba once more? And most importantly, _why could she do nothing but ask 'why'?_

Frustration swept in and stinging tears welled up once again. Her face scrunched up and her fists balled while her auburn hair hung limply in her eyes.

Kaiba stared at the girl as she lost and then regained control of her emotions. He felt a flicker of something inside of him. It was an emotion that he was unaccustomed to using, something that he had not felt since he'd uttered the word "checkmate" on that cursed day… But the flicker was dominated by his business instincts.

"You're in my way," he barked, perhaps more harshly than he had intended. And yet, his pocketed hand could not stop grasping that locket of hers.

The small girl's head whipped up, startled and hurt, as he pushed her aside. To her, it felt like a rough movement, but to him, it was rather gentle- or as gentle as he was capable of being.

The dragon walked past her towards his laptop, but the sound of her voice stopped him. And it was not all weepy like he had expected. Rather, it was fiery and harsh.

"Well, I'm so sorry that I'm inconveniencing you, but my life was just _ripped apart_!"

Kaiba's cold eyes snapped up, showing little of the confusion and surprise that was plaguing his mind. Rather, his eyes were like blue stone. Or perhaps mirrors, reflecting other people but never showing what was behind. "Go rest. You're hurt."

"How is this _happening_!" she screamed at him from the other side of the room.

"You shouldn't be using all your energy," Kaiba growled, turning his gaze back to his computer. It was logical- she should rest now, ask questions later.

Frustrated at being treated like some little afterthought that he knew like the palm of hand, Serenity suddenly shouted at him. Her voice pounced upon him like a tigress. "You don't know anything about me! You don't even know my last name!"

Ice blue met turmoiled honey. "Serenity Wheeler. Age 16. Height 5'1". Weight 115. Hair Color Auburn. Eye Color Hazel. Both your parents are deceased. Your only living relative is a brother, Joseph Wheeler. You have no permanent household. You recently were sent to negotiate with Marik Ishtar to save your sorry rebel-asses from his wrath- which ultimately didn't work, I might add. Am I right so far?"

Serenity's were wide, and she found herself speechless. It just didn't make sense that he knew so much. He was rattling off her entire life like he was a European history teacher, in that same monotone voice. He sounded like he was reading the stock market numbers. "H-how d-did-?"

"Memorizing is one of my strong points," Kaiba rumbled with a smirk, touching his fingertips together.

The poor girl's pained head was reeling. "Wh-what?"

"Your strong points are mental. You have no experience with violence, but you're very talented at avoiding conflicts. Ultimately, you're good negotiating material, but your looks are categorized as being potentially a threat to your health."

"Excuse me?"

Kaiba just barged on through her data. "You were born one month premature, which supposedly explains your small bone structure. You had poor eyesight as a child, which was eventually corrected. Now, you are believed to have 20/20 vision. Before they died, your parents had separated. Your father was an alcoholic in his later years and known for beating his family. Would you like me to go on?"

There he paused. It had been so easy to memorize her file.

"I… but… how…"

Those piercing eyes bore straight through her. "I'll say it again: Would you like me to go on?"

Serenity's mouth opened slightly, as if she were about to try to speak up for herself. But instead, she stared at her feet and shook her head. "N-no."

"Then don't tell me that I don't know anything about you." And just like that, Kaiba reverted his attention to his laptop.

Honey eyes staring at the nicely carpeted floor, Serenity felt like curling up into a small ball and sobbing her eyes out. He had apparently rescued her… so why, oh gods, why was he treating her like some dog that was unfit to be in his presence. Liquid swam into her eyes as she realized that she was back to where she started- with 'why'.

Kaiba grit his teeth together silently. Not that the awkward silence bothered him, oh no, he was much too accustomed to those. But it was her question. _Why?_ That one little word was biting him in the ass. And he didn't like it. All in all, he was completely oblivious to the sudden streams of tears streaming down the cheeks of the girl standing opposite his desk. Until, of course, a wailing sob escaped her little throat. Her knees crumpled to the floor as if they were made of thin sheets of paper.

Kaiba watched with an apparently emotionless face as the little thing cried on her knees before him. And then there was that little flicker of estranged emotion poking at the back of his mind- for the second time that day. And for the second time that day, he was able to push that feeling aside.

But then, through her wretched sobs, Serenity whispered possibly the only thing that could have connected with Kaiba's ice-covered heart:

"Big brother…"

Everything within Kaiba's whirring, analytical mind froze. His eyes stared with slight awe at the petite little girl he'd inexplicably saved from a gruesome death. And, in that moment at least, he wasn't alone. For the first time since he'd sent his own little brother across to Great Britain two years ago, he didn't feel utterly alone.

But the moment passed, and the businessman he'd become came back.

Oblivious to all, Serenity slowly began to get a hold upon her own emotions.

"You won't find him here."

The honey-eyed girl's head shot up, suddenly. She numbly wiped her eyes with her hand. "W-what?"

"A certain Joseph Wheeler and Mai Valentine have been reported-"

"Stop!" The word ripped out of Serenity's throat in an animal-like wail. "Stop! They're dead! I know that! Just leave me be and STOP MOCKING ME!" Tears anew broke threw her eyes and flowed down her reddened cheeks.

"I never said that," Kaiba said gruffly, both annoyed and strangely soft.

Serenity choked down a sob and looked up at him, finding his intimidating eyes somehow different. This time, she found that she wasn't afraid. "Wh-what?"

"Are you going to let me finish my godamn sentence?" the impatient CEO growled menacingly.

The petite girl hiccupped slightly but was able to nod her head. Not once did she break eye contact.

"Joseph Wheeler and Mai Valentine have been reported to have registered with the Russian government as refugees from Japan," Kaiba finished with one raised eyebrow, matter-of-factly.

All time seemed to stop for one small, auburn-haired girl.

It was too amazing. It was too shocking. But by the gods, it was praiseworthy.

_'They're alive!'_ Serenity's mind screamed in jubilation. _'My big brother is alive!'_

Unbeknownst to her, two cobalt eyes watched with unreadable expression as a series of emotions and thoughts took hold of her. Kaiba stared as shock dawned, then a beautiful smile shown through her previous misery. If he had been some sort of pansy-poet, he would have said that her smile lit the room with an irreplaceable golden light. Then, to Kaiba's astonishment, the little female began crying all over again, this time with a smile on her face.

Before he knew it, the little whirlwind of a girl had thrown her slender arms around his neck and was sobbing into his fine cotton shirt collar. He froze, but for some reason didn't have the heart to push her off.

"I… I c-can't… I can't b-believe it!" she gasped between gleeful sobs, somewhat muffled into his shirt. "Th-thank you. Th-thank you s-so m-much!"

Suddenly she pulled away, hugging herself tightly as she sobbed with that lovely smile upon her face. Her honey-colored eyes were cemented shut as she just kept repeating, "I can't believe it," over and over again to no one in particular. Her disbelief was absolutely adorable, purely innocent.

Although the Kaiba Corp CEO had seen many, many drop-dead gorgeous women, they had all been the same. Each one had worn sleek, sophisticated suits with done-up hair and crimson lipstick. Each one had tried so ridiculously hard to seduce the billionaire. And none had so much as created a dent on his hard shell.

But this one was different. He couldn't openly admit that to himself, but it was still deeply imbedded in his subconscious.

The CEO just continued to stare at her, thinking nothing in particular, as she sobbed. He stroked the sleek silver of her locket, wondering. Of course, he knew all her general information, but it was a far cry from knowing everything. Such as… where had she gotten the silver locket that had become just as important as his cell phone? If he could just focus on questions like that, then maybe he'd never have to answer the dreaded 'why' ones.

_Ring!_

With that automatic flick of the wrist, his cell phone snapped open. "Kaiba."

_"Mr. Kaiba, you-"_ There was a pause, where the man on the other line was probably attempting to piece together what the sound of a woman sobbing in the background meant. But he obviously decided not to ask. _"You have an incoming call."_

"Didn't I specifically tell you not to bother me with any calls, today?" Kaiba snapped into the small metallic object in his hand.

_"W-well, yes, sir. But it's your brother, sir-"_

The man didn't have to say one more word. "I'll be right there."

The powerful businessman flicked the cell phone closed and glided to his feet, towering easily over the only other person in the room. His hard eyes looked at her, wondering what to do about her. Leaving her in his personal office, while she was awake, was definitely not a good idea. And he certainly couldn't give her free reign in the KC building, especially considering her condition.

But he had an idea.

"You!" Kaiba snapped sharply, nodding in her direction.

Serenity just smiled serenely, tear-free at him, despite his harsh words and actions. By no means was it the best day of her life, but, to her, her brother had come back from the dead. Nothing was going to bring down her spirits.

"Come with me, kid."

---------------------------------------------------------------

All the secretaries in the large room swiveled their heads as their intimidating, yet incredibly sexy boss walked through the door. He swept into the room with hard, cobalt eyes. Small whispers began to rush through the room accompanied by little smiles. A rather roughed-up looking girl was in tow, following his heels in wonder.

The petite girl was cute, quite innocent-looking. Undoubtedly a pretty little thing. Her hair was quite long, although a bit disheveled, and her face showed recent tear streaks. But her liquidy, honey eyes had wonder and an inherent happiness glowing within them.

"Kohaku Hideki?" the CEO barked over the heads of KC's computer-managing secretaries.

"Here, sir," called back a deep, feminine voice. She was fairly nondescript as far as features and personality went, but she wasn't some airhead.

Kaiba whirled to face a somewhat awed Serenity. "Stay here, kid, until I get back." He, then, turned to stare icily at the level-headed secretary. "Watch this one, Hideki. I don't want to come back to find her missing."

"Yes, sir," Kohaku Hideki replied coolly, nodding her head in assent. Her eyes focused warmly on the confused girl that Kaiba left in his sweeping wake. The petite girl's eyes were watching the blue-eyed man walk easily out of the room. Kohaku smiled at her. "Seto Kaiba even puts that American, Bill Gates, to shame. What's your name?"

Serenity's honey eyes snapped over to focus on the secretary's black ones. "Serenity Wheeler."

"Serenity…" the secretary said as if testing the name upon her tongue, "I'm…"

"Kohaku Hideki," Serenity finished politely.

Of course, Kohaku wanted to ask a million questions. Like who she was, and why Kaiba was looking out for her. But she followed KC's golden rule, like every good employee. But there was one question. "Are you the girl that Keisuke brought in?"

Confusion broiled in Serenity's eyes. "Keisuke?"

Kohaku shook her head. "I suppose you may not remember. Never mind."

A small silence set in, in which the tapping of the other secretaries' computer keys was the only audible sound. Then Serenity spoke.

"Could I… uh… use your computer?"

"Of course."

--------------------------------------------------------

Kaiba's slender fingers tapped in a few passwords on the sleek computer module, then he stood back, impatiently watching the computer screen as his brother's face swam into view.

_"Seto!"_ the raven-haired boy shouted happily.

"Mokuba," Kaiba replied in as warm a tone as was possible.

The chilly eyes didn't faze Mokuba in the least. Instead, his gray eyes sparkled. _"I haven't been able to get a hold of you for weeks!"_

Kaiba sighed and rubbed his temples. "I've been busy lately."

There was an awkward pause. All the unsaid things seemed to be passing painfully between them. Like how Mokuba hated it that he'd been shipped out of the country without his elder brother to accompany him. But things like that were no longer said.

Finally, Mokuba decided to speak, trying to keep the conversation going. _"When are you going to come over to visit?"_

"There's a bit of a British accent in your Japanese, Mokuba," Kaiba stated, cleanly avoiding his younger brother's question.

But Mokuba wasn't fooled, and he certainly wasn't afraid of the Great Seto Kaiba like so many other people._ "Are you ever going to visit?"_

Kaiba's long fingers returned to his temples. "Mokuba, I've already told you. I need to keep my business in line."

Something snapped inside of the normally cheerful Mokuba._ "Your business? You mean, the business that's responsible for the deaths of half of Japan?!"_

"Mokuba, I'm not responsible for what people decide to do with Kaiba Corp's products. I merely sell them," Kaiba responded, emotionless.

The Kaiba brothers glared at one another from their identical computer screens, which had direct contact with one another. They were twin computers built solely for the purpose of communication between the two brothers.

_"You've grown too cold."_ The boy sounded somewhat like his older brother when he used that chilling tone.

"People change, Mokuba."

"_But not you, big brother!"_ Mokuba exclaimed, sounding desperate. This was not the response he'd been expecting. _"You would never want this. Don't you see how many people are being hurt?"_

"That's not my problem," Kaiba responded coolly, crossing his powerful arms over his chest.

"_But Seto! What if it was me?"_

"But it's not, Mokuba."

_"What if-"_

"Mokuba, hypothetical questions mean nothing to me."

There was long, painful pause. Gray eyes stared right into cobalt blue. Neither side seemed willing to waver, until the pair of gray eyes looked away. Mokuba's face now bore a saddened expression, an expression that had graced his features many a time since they had inherited the name 'Kaiba' from their amazingly heartless stepfather.

_"Take care of yourself, big brother. I just hope you aren't becoming the person that you most hated."_

Before Kaiba could so much as think of a reply, the screen went blank. Pale hands clenched into balled fists. Once again, he'd managed to upset his brother. "Mokuba!" he growled. With all his boiling anger and self-loathing, Kaiba pounded his fist into the wall, letting the pain of it seep into his system. "Godammit!"

_Ring!_

Kaiba growled gruffly, all his muscles tensed. He didn't need any more imbeciles fucking with his mind and his company.

_Ring!_

It was inevitable.

_Ring!_

"Kaiba."

_"Mr. Kaiba, I thought you might want to know that Mr. Ishtar is here."_

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Why the fuck did you let him in?"

The voice on the other line was obviously nervous now. _"Well, he, uh, said that you had business dealings to go over…"_

"Marik Ishtar," Kaiba began in a voice that could have frozen boiling water, "is the biggest fucking liar in all of Japan. Do not listen to him, you fool."

_"S-sorry, Mr. Kaiba. I-"_

"No. Don't try to help. Where is the filthy bastard?" Kaiba felt a massive migraine settling in to stay for a very long while. That had been happening a lot lately.

_"He tried to break into your office, sir, but he was unsuccessful. Right now, he's on the fifth floor."_

Kaiba grit his teeth. "The fifth floor?"

_"Yes, sir."_

"Fuck."

_"Is there a problem, Mr. Kaiba?"_

Kaiba snapped angrily into his cell phone. "Yes, there is a problem! I don't want him let into the secretaries' room on the fifth floor, do you understand?"

_"Y-yes, sir. I'll tell them."_

Click.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Serenity couldn't keep the smile off of her face. The online records were staring her in the face. Kaiba had been telling the truth, not that she had really doubted him. There was something obviously honest in his usual words. But, now she had seen it for herself. Joey and Mai had made it. Somehow.

Kohaku watched her new companion's face. She had taken a liking to the sweet little thing. Suddenly, she heard a voice coming through her earpiece.

_"Kohaku? Hey, Kohaku? I need you to make sure Marik Ishtar doesn't make it into your room. Kaiba's orders."_

The nondescript secretary's brow furrowed. That was definitely unusual.

It had to be about the new girl. It just had to. What else could it be? "Serenity, you may want to-"

But Serenity wasn't listening. Instead, she was staring, in fixed horror at something at the other side of the room. Kohaku's brow furrowed even further, and she followed the younger girl's line of sight. Then she gasped.

She knew those sharp lavender eyes and champagne blonde hair anywhere.

This was going to be a close shave.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

_Elenion: Hey, guys. So sorry to leave you with a minor cliffie. Don't worry. The gap will be nothing like last time!_


	9. Chapter 9

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

_Elenion: What can I say- no free time… I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it._

_I apologize, but I didn't have time to write reviewer responses this time (I was in a production of "Into the Woods"). But a big thank you to: MistressMoonDemon, Yamiko Yakou, Kikoken, Walis, twilight eyes 8120, Peneia Teke, Childlike Empress, grey tears, Eternity's Angel, PinkStarz, DidiHoney, xxTaintedcv, krNKyutEe, Jieli, Dragon/FairyGirl, Asakura'sSkyfireGal4Eva, axel, and Court12!_

_Please understand that this chapter will be even shorter than usual because it's a transition chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

He was stressed. He was overworked. He was so damn confused about the workings of his own mind, he felt like pounding the nearest employee's head into the well-polished floor. And now there was Marik.

Kaiba strode through the inner workings of his corporation at breakneck speed. This was just not going to be a good day. Especially with his incoming migraine. His head was being split apart into small shards the size of molecules from the inside out. Or that's what it felt like, anyway. And it would only get worse with some confrontation with the pain-in-the-ass blonde brat. Hell, Kaiba hated Marik with a searing, burning passion, but he was a great business opportunity. He'd never seriously considered murdering the bastard, but, oh gods, if looks could kill…

_'Won't he ever learn?'_

The answer: Probably not. And now, if the young CEO didn't think quickly (which was luckily one of his strong points), his whole neutral image could potentially go to hell. And if that happened, the shit would really hit the fan.

* * *

Kohaku Hideki felt her nerves freeze over. She grasped the auburn-haired head and none-too-gently, shoved it beneath her desk. Quickly, the level-headed secretary clicked a few times on her computer screen and pulled up a word document, which she immediately became very absorbed with. The voice came frantically through her earpiece once again.

_"Kohaku! Kohaku! Did you hear me?"_

The young secretary hissed back. "Yes, I heard you, but it's a bit too late to keep Mr. Ishtar out now."

There was a small pause in which the voice on the other end felt something akin to impending doom settle somewhere around his shoulders. Ironically, it felt a lot like a hang-man's noose. Then the voice in Kohaku's earpiece found itself once more. _"Damn! Kaiba's not going to like this!"_

No shit. No fucking shit.

From somewhere around her ankles, Kohaku could hear a sharp intake of breath. _'Just stay calm,'_ the secretary mentally shouted at the bundle of nerves under her desk. _'Just don't do anything stupid, and you'll be ok.'_

Serenity's hands were virtually tying themselves into knots. Her heart was thumping like a drum, no, a gong inside of her chest. She could almost feel it scaling her body, ready to jump through her throat at any moment. If Marik found her now, then it would all be over…

But then she caught herself.

What would all be over? What did she possibly have now that was worth keeping?

The hair about the base of her neck prickled, suddenly. Those infamous lavender eyes had an almost tangible line of sight. It was almost like the sightline on a rifle. Almost everything that she was feeling prior to that moment vanished with the sound of the soft crunch of expensive carpet only a few feet from her.

Those boots… Serenity had once been thrown upon them… She knew them well. And she knew who they belonged to.

"Where is Kaiba?"

Serenity shivered, although the question was most obviously not directed at her. There was just something in his voice that rang of don't-get-in-my-way-or-I'll-send-you-to-see-your-maker.

Then, the small girl heard the secretary's tight reply: "He is unavailable at the moment."

_Slam!_

The entire desk shuddered violently under the sudden impact of the volatile man's hand. Serenity flinched but managed to suppress the small squeak of surprise that was biting at the inside of her throat. _'Just stay calm… Dear gods…'_ What could she possibly have done in a previous life to deserve such horrible karma?

There was a long tense silence in which Serenity could practically feel the heated sparks flying between the eyes of Marik and Kohaku. But then, with another, swifter crunch of the carpet, a new pair of boots arrived. From the opposite direction.

"I'd appreciate it if you could stop abusing my furniture and employees," a familiarly icy voice growled.

"Kaiba!" Marik practically spat out, whirling from the secretary to the CEO in a fit of champagne blonde hair.

"I'd also appreciate it if you'd stop wasting my time." Kaiba's face was focused upon the furious man, but his eyes leveled at about his shoulder- focusing on Kohaku. She, in turn, glanced surreptiously toward the bottom of her desk. And in that small exchange, the CEO understood many things- that the girl hadn't been seen, that she hadn't died as of yet, and most importantly- that she close enough to still be caught.

"Fuck you, Kaiba!" Marik hissed, pale nostrils flaring like some undiscovered species of lizard. He raised a long finger, pointing it towards one of many men that he truly, utterly loathed. "You sold me a defaulted-"

"Nothing from KC is defaulted, you pathetic fool." Kaiba growled, feeling his temper rising, aided by his pounding migraine.

"That's utter BULLSHIT!" Marik stumbled back a step.

The room was utterly silent by that time. Every secretary's head was swiveled towards the two powerhouses, watching in both curiosity and fear. It was almost difficult to say which of the two had the worse temper. There was Ishtar, who was always throwing some sort of temper tantrum, and then there was Kaiba, who had a voice that could curdle milk.

Kaiba examined Marik from his booted feet to his shiny mop of hair, as if he were sizing him up. "I suggest you leave this building, Marik."

"I'm not leaving until you-"

"Now."

You could almost taste the anger radiating off of Ishtar's reddening face. Perhaps the only unfazed person in the entire room was the icy-eyed CEO himself. Marik shuddered, in a not-so-inconspicuous attempt to control his virtually uncontrollable anger. "Well, that girl-"

"That girl is out of the deal, as far as I'm concerned," Kaiba stated matter-of-factly. "You falsely accused me of selling malfunctioning equipment- which you have not fully paid me for- and so I believe that our little deal is off."

Gears grinded together inside of Marik's mind. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Kaiba took a casually menacing step forward. "It means, Marik, get the fuck out of my company unless you'd rather not do business with me ever again."

Shock. Utter shock. Marik was in a difficult place, and he knew it. It was either his pride or his weapons. And for him, that was an extremely close call. His fists balled at his sides. And then he did something so rash and idiotic that he would physically hit himself later on. Perhaps even the gods had not seen this outcome.

"I hope you rot in fucking hell, Seto Kaiba." He spat the name out like it was a curse. "Consider any business negotiations off." And with that, the blonde strode out of the office.

Hubris. Pride. Ishtar's tragic flaw.

Seto Kaiba stood for a moment, his eyes following the man out. Beneath the veiled surface of his eyes, there was a strange sense of disbelief and confusion. And then he began to laugh- a deep bellowing laugh at the stupidity of it all. Marik had chosen a side for him and damned be the neutral image now. Of course, Marik would probably come crawling back on his knees for forgiveness- and for this, he'd have to pay double price. But until then…

"Girl!"

Serenity slithered out from beneath the desk, uncertain of almost everything in her life. "Y-yes?"

The CEO smiled coldly and ironically. "It looks like I finally picked a side- your side."

Kohaku Hideki stared at him for a moment in amazement. But then she shrugged and turned back to her computer console. "It was bound to happen eventually."

Serenity squeaked as her firmly grabbed her arm and pulled her down a hallway. Corridors went flashing by her head. "Wait!" The small girl wrenched her arm away from him. "I don't understand! You'd just pick a side, just like that?"

Kaiba glared at her calmly. "Honestly, I don't particularly care what happens. You're side is just as brutal as the other. Do you honestly think that with you in control, things will be any better? And what's to stop all this from happening again?" He turned his head away from her and resumed his wildly fast pace through the hallways. "However, that doesn't matter now. I have a business obligation to fulfill with Pegasus. You'll be coming with me, of course."

Her honey eyes shot up in surprise. Was he trying to help her? Possibly? He was just too difficult to read. But before she could open her mouth to speak, the cold man turned to her once again and announced his fate to whatever deity happened to be listening:

"Prepare for the coup of the century."

* * *

_Elenion: So this is obviously the start of new division of the story. I did this chapter a bit hastily, because it was kind of boring._


End file.
